Mythical Savings In Obamacare

On Friday, CNS News posted a story about the 2011 Annual Report from the Medicare Board of Trustees.  The report stated what many of us have suspected since the passage of Obamacare--the savings claimed in Obamacare are not guaranteed and may, in fact, be fictional.  The report states:

"Also unknown is how effective the significant federal health legislation enacted in 2010 will be at moderating cost growth for Medicare. If the legislation's cost-reducing innovations in the delivery of and payment for health services were not successful, or if health care providers could not accommodate the slower growth in Medicare payment rates mandated by the new law, Medicare costs would be significantly higher than shown in the Trustees Report.he effects of these endeavors on Medicare's costs are yet to be determined. Also unknown is how effective the significant federal health legislation enacted in 2010 will be at moderating cost growth for Medicare. If the legislation's cost-reducing innovations in the delivery of and payment for health services were not successful, or if health care providers could not accommodate the slower growth in Medicare payment rates mandated by the new law, Medicare costs would be significantly higher than shown in the Trustees Report."

In other words, we have been sold a bill of goods that Obamacare will reduce healthcare costs. 

The article at CNS News states:

"ObamaCare purports to reduce health care costs in two main ways: by forcing providers to implement efficiencies in the short term through gradual and predictable reductions in Medicare payments and by instituting broader health care delivery reforms over the long term. The Medicare Trustees report casts doubt on both approaches.

"In the case of the short-term payment reductions, the Trustees report says that they are likely to cause hospitals to lose substantial amounts of money, forcing them to shift costs onto non-Medicare patients or simply refuse to treat Medicare recipients."

I live in Massachusetts where we have what the Democrats are referring to as "Romneycare," which is supposedly what Obamacare is based on.  Because the media is trying to get Romney out of the Republican primary, they are now running stories about the problems Romneycare has caused.  Last week our local paper ran a story about the fact that more than half of primary care physicians in Massachusets are no accepting new patients.  Waits for office visits are longer, and many people are using emergency rooms because they cannot get in to see a doctor.  Meanwhile the cost to the consumer is skyrocketing.  This is a preview of what Obamacare will be like when it is fully in place.  We truly need to repeal it now, before it is too late.