In an article by Laura Meckler about presidential candidates’ platforms on healthcare, the Wall Street Journal quoted a member of the Medicare advisory panel as saying the demonstration projects for competitive bidding showed no compromise of quality.
“Mr. Reischauer, who serves on a Medicare advisory panel, pointed to a demonstration project that showed competitive bidding for durable medical equipment, such as oxygen tanks or wheelchairs, lowered Medicare costs without compromising quality. But he said spreading that practice to the rest of the country is meeting resistance in Congress because some equipment makers will lose business.”
However, reimbursements for durable medical equipment were cut by an average of 26% which will lead to lower quality products and service. As many as 3 million beneficiaries in the First Round of competitive bidding are susceptible to disruption in service as they search for approved contractors and the hospital discharge process will be slowed causing taxpayers more money.
To respond to this article or read more about the candidates stances on health care visit: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120934133175548483.html?mod=googlenews_wsj or write to Laura Meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com.
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