CBS Touts Obamacare Provisions Many Seniors ‘Will Probably Like,’ But Warns of Longer Wait Times
On Friday’s CBS Evening News, correspondent Sharyl Attkisson filed a report previewing how new health care reform provisions are expected to effect seniors. After beginning her piece by predicting that "a lot of them will probably like" the first changes that take effect, she recounted a number of benefits that will be offered to Medicare recipients at a substantially lower cost, and featured a soundbite of a reform advocate who claimed that the new benefits would actually lead to lower costs.
Attkisson then gave attention to more pessimistic predictions that seniors will have to wait a longer time for medical care because some doctors will stop accepting Medicare patients, but, as she concluded her report, she dismissed critics by reiterating the claims of Obamacare supporters that the changes "are quite popular and will be hard for anyone to take away." Attkisson:
Republicans have promised to do what they can to stop or roll back health care reform, but advocates say most of these first provisions taking effect are quite popular and will be hard for anyone to take away.
Below is a complete transcript of the report from the Friday, December 31, CBS Evening News :
HARRY SMITH: The battle over health care reform will continue to be a huge story in 2011. A lot of Americans are worried about what the changes might mean for them. Millions are about to find out. As Sharyl Attkisson reports, some key provisions take effect when the clock strikes 12 tonight.
SHARYL ATTKISSON: Millions of seniors are about to get their first taste of health care reform, and a lot of them will probably like it. For the first time, the 45 million seniors on Medicare can get free annual physicals, no more co-payments. They'll get free screenings for diabetes and cancer. That includes mammograms and colonoscopies.
JAMES CHIONG, HEALTH INFORMATION CAMPAIGN: We think it will make, you know, the lives and wellness of seniors much better, and, in the end, it will help to drag down costs as diseases are caught sooner before they become more costly to treat.
ATTKISSON: Another plus: shrinking the so-called doughnut hole. Medicare patients used to have to pay the entire cost of their prescriptions after they spent about $2,800 until expenses reached about $6,400. Now they'll get a 50 percent discount on certain brand-name drugs, seven percent on generics. There are also less popular provisions. Medicare patients will pay higher premiums for prescription drugs if they make over $85,000; $170,000 for couples. Non-prescription drugs like cold and allergy medicine can't be reimbursed through tax free flexible spending or health savings accounts. And perhaps the biggest worry:
DR. HERBERT PARDES, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: I think there's a very real concern about having adequate numbers of Medicare doctors.
ATTKISSON: That could mean long waits to see the doctor.
PARDES: I think they will see delays in the timing of their appointments. I think a number of doctors who’ve been frustrated because of the Medicare fee level will actually stop taking Medicare. So that's a real worry for all of us.
ATTKISSON: Republicans have promised to do what they can to stop or roll back health care reform, but advocates say most of these first provisions taking effect are quite popular and will be hard for anyone to take away.
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Comments
old people, they are such a burden
Submitted by MidAmerica on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 2:35am.
It's already taking affect here. Fewer doctors will accept new Medicare patients. Driving down the cost of healthcare by not paying doctors enough is not exactly a brilliant plan.
Quality of life
Submitted by jon_torlin on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 2:58am.
The term "quality of life" will have little or no meaning at least to the b-crats that are going to handle this mess.
I suspect that some doctors might work on the outside for their patients in defiance against Ocare. Might even be an underground movement. The helluvit is, that would be a tricky situation.
God almighty I wish they would hurry up and find this unconstitutional in the SCOTUS!
-Jon
Yes.
Submitted by The Vet on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 4:09am.
The famous jon_torlin inspired Underground Doctor Movement of 2011.
Prolly will be bigger than the other famous underground movements
The famous Underground Movement of Plumbers in 1972.
The famous Underground Movement of Coal Miners of 1898.
The famous Underground Movement of RailRoad Engineers during the building of the NYC Subway System.
The famous Underground Movement of Moles of eternity.
The famous Underground Movement of me this morning. Wait, that was a bowel movement. Belay my last.
Yeah, doctors spend almost decade in school and as interns honing their craft. They spend more than $100,000 on education. Screw all that, let's openly defy the law and risk losing that MD license that we spent so much money and time to get.
Wise peanut
Submitted by jon_torlin on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 11:27am.
As the wise Peanut would say...."Eee-owww!" performed by Jeff Dunham.
The second paragraph was said in jest(hence the "tricky situation" remark).
-Jon
Oh ha ha ha ha. Wait. I don't get it.
Submitted by The Vet on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 12:24pm.
Sorry I missed that dry dry dry sense of humor you have. First time I have ever seen the phrase tricky situation as an indication of all teh funnies.
Nor do I understand the Peanut reference. Am I Peanut? Are you Peanut? Is "Eee-owww" an indication of pain? Happiness? Did you fail to use the hand over the head movement to indicate something flew over my head much like Peanut does in the show? Thus missing another chance to get across to the audience what you actually intended to say?
Are there any other phrases in your lexicon that would indicate a sense of sarcasm, irony, smarm, snark, or sleaze? Is there a jon_torlin to English translator we could buy or rent to know when that dry dusty parched dessicated mummified infecundical sense of humor, that only you and you only seem to understand, suddenly pops out?
of course not
Submitted by jon_torlin on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 12:29pm.
You asked me publicly not to reply to anything you had to say on here and I respected that but I guess that doesn't apply to you the other way around? I could say anything in the world and you would respond as you did in the above fashion. I still don't know why and at this point, it doesn't matter.
So who cares. If you want to keep making those kinds of comments, go right ahead, doesn't seem to be any satisfying you for anything anyway.
-Jon
Now I feel bad.
Submitted by The Vet on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 1:35pm.
And you are not a bad guy. All right. Sorry. I thought we were sharing the witties and the funnies. You have a nice day Mr. Torlin. Easy on the predictions. Ok?
Advantage plan
Submitted by StarAZ on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 12:52pm.
I decided to get rid of my supplemental and ride an advantage plan down until the admin gutted it. I have no doctor--fired them or they fired me.... The broker picked one on the plan--funny story, they weren't on the plan. They didn't want Medicare people anymore. I have another one now--so now my problem is the "talk" about my death, about my fat...Not interested in taking time with either. I hope these little chats are indeed voluntary. Otherwise--I will need ANOTHER doctor.
"Seniors will probably like.....?"
Submitted by Herbster on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 3:19am.
Kill 'em in the womb. Kill 'em through "Regulation " and "Rationing" later in life. Can SOLYENT GREEN be far behind? Doctors won't accept new Medicare patients. Cut their reimbursements. Who are Medicare patients? SENIORS! Slowly, but surely they will be squeezed out of the system. CBS....and all the rest of the leftist media is busy carrying the water for Obama by launching pre-emptive strikes on the Republicans and their plans to roll back the damage Obama has done. By the way, have you seen the MSM criticize Obama for his many vacations and 56+ rounds of golf? Can you imagine if this was President Bush? They would be demanding IMPEACHMENT. Have you noticed the lack of reporting on the casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq? When Bush was President, the MSM was gloating, counting and reporting casualties on an almost hourly basis. And when a "Milestone" of 500, 1000, 2000 casualties was reached, the MSM was orgasmic in their reporting and denigrating Bush. The sad fact is that the MSM has become an advocacy group for all things democratic. The mantra is simple - democrats, GOOD. Republicans, EVIL. Josef Goebbels would be proud of these vile creatures.
Did the MSM report more soldiers dead in Afghanistan...
Submitted by Red Jeep on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 8:10am.
under Obama in 2 years than in the previous 8 under Bush? No? Couldn't be bias could it?
The largest population group in the country, the Baby Boomers, is retiring. Go ahead Dems, mess with their health care. See if that gets ya re-elected.
The necessary next step
Submitted by motherbelt on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 7:53am.
Requiring doctors to accept Medicare patients.
But that won't help, because doctors will retire earlier, exacerbating the problem.
These people have never heard of the Law of Unintended Consequences.
Let's see, 8 years beyond
Submitted by jdhawk on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 8:02am.
Let's see, 8 years beyond high school plus 3-7 years of intern and residency to be fully trained. So, that the average doctor is middle aged and half of his or her life has been spent either in school or in training.
Then, there is the average $500,000 in debt that needs to be paid back on $1,000,000+ education.
Yeah, line up you Medicare/Medicaid patients. I'll get less in payment than it takes to keep my doors open and then wait 6 months to 2 years to get paid by the government for your visit.
Sure, line up . . .
The cost of health care is rising?
Submitted by Cyborg 0427 on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 11:10am.
This whole arguement from the very start has been at best moronic. Yes the cost of health care is rising but so has everything else and some such things as gasoline have risen at a much higher rate. Could the true culprit be inflation caused by the Federal Reserve? I can remember when I could take $1.00 and go to the movies, stuff myself with popcorn, candy and soft drink and have a nickel left over to stick in my piggy bank, the cost of that trip has risen about 1000%. Could the next on my list of culprits be NAFTA. Jobs that used to provide low cost health insurance to empoyees have gone to where ever so now we have a health care crisis. If you believe that our government doesn't know these things you are kidding yourself. We are being herded like cattle in to the New World Order. So now the talking heads are telling us how wonderful Obamacare will be and how we will just love it with a gleem in their eye. I have heard that small business is engine creating all the new jobs in this country. Does any one not see how ridiculous this statement is? When a textile mill closes running three shifts there is 300 jobs gone, the next in line to close is the mill that makes shirts with 100 jobs gone not to mention the mills who make the buttons, thread and, boxes that these shirts are shipped in. How many small businesses will it take to offset the loss of 400 to 500 jobs? This is the bottom line to one textile mill closing and moving south or as I said wheverever. Wake the f up America and use your intelligence to rid yourselves of this herd mentality. Health care only needed fixed because our own government broke it to start with.
They ARE quite popular...
Submitted by CobraMan on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 11:19am.
"Republicans have promised to do what they can to stop or roll back health care reform, but advocates say most of these first provisions taking effect are quite popular and will be hard for anyone to take away."
They ARE quite popular, to the advocates anyways. We don't know what the opponents say, as CBS doesn't bother to quote any. Nor do they quote any actual seniors who will be affected the most by this. All they quote are the supporters of ObamaCare. Goebbles would be proud!
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
By the way
Submitted by CobraMan on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 11:31am.
"For the first time, the 45 million seniors on Medicare can get free annual physicals, no more co-payments."
By the way, do the idiots who created this "great" idea even understand WHY clinic and hospitals have "co-pays?" It's needed to cover day to day operating expenses until those government or insurance reimbursements claims are actually PAID!
How are the clinic and hospitals supposed to keep operating while waiting weeks, and even months, for the federal government to pay their (reduce) payments if their main source of immediate income, those "co-pays," is taken away from them? The only way they'll be able to keep operating is by charging even higher co-pay fees to people who do not use Medicare or Medicaid. In other words, raise the cost for everyone else. Those supposedly "smart" people we have governing us never think about things like that, do they?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Well don't we all like
Submitted by Radical1979 on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 11:39am.
Well don't we all like getting something for "free". My uncle, who is in his 80's often argues with my 90 year old mother in law. His argument is that she shouldn't expect to get everything for free. As he says, "Why the hell shouldn't you have to pay for your medicine?" Someone is paying for it.
But it's a moot point. Elderly people need medical care promptly. If they can't see a doctor because doctors are in business more of them will die. Then the government won't have to pay for them and Robert Riech will be happy.
Liberals love when the very young and the very old die.
Exactly. You're a senior. Don't like your Doctor. ObamaCare..
Submitted by Gary Hall on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 1:36pm.
Exactly. You're a senior. Don't like your Doctor. Not to worry, ObamaCare will solve that problem.
Soon, there will be no doctors left in Medicare to treat you.
See - no problem; you don't need to worry about seeing that doctor you didn't like anyway ever again. As Robert Reich said, 'We're going to let you die.'
(;~/ gary
if longer waits were the only issue
Submitted by Rackie on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 3:26pm.
So as more docs refuse medicare patients as other docs see their practices get loaded up with caring for patients that will eventually kill their lively hood, they too will refuse any medicare patients or quit the business all together.
New students will either give medical school a pass or go for the highend specialties and primary care will become virtually nonexisent.
To fill the void, med students and docs will be recruited from third world countries, stripping them of their badly needed but poorly paid medical professionals.
Then, like the UK, we will have medically adequate but culturally clueless docs. It will make a big difference in the quality of care.
In the meantime, Take a number.