Thursday, June 26, 2008

Washington Post Endorses Medicare Bill; NPR’s Marketplace Showcases NY Times Article

The Washington Post endorsed the whole Medicare package including a delay for competitive bidding, saying “targeted improvements are justifiable and paid for.” Help for Medicare, published June 26, discusses both the legislative achievements and mischief surrounding the scramble to eliminate the cuts to doctors fees set to take effect on July 1. Describing the deals surrounding competitive bidding as “mischief,” the article credits the bill for making improvements to the bidding program, saying the Medicare package would “expand preventive care, reduce co-payments for mental health services and make it easier for low-income beneficiaries to qualify for extra help.”

To read the full article visit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/25/AR2008062502776.html

In an Interview on NPR's Marketplace, “Medicare looks to the free market,” Bob Moon interviewed David Leonhardt about his article in the New York Times Wednesday on the competitive bidding program. Moon asked about the discrepancy in cost between Medicare, Wal-Mart, and Web prices as well as the congressional action to delay the bidding program. Leonhardt equates the fight surrounding competitive bidding to the difficulties we will see when a true health reform plan takes place.

We encourage you to post a comment after reading the interview transcript at: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/06/25/medicare/#fbFormContainer

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