As surprising as it may seem, the Bush administration plans on continuing to imprint its lasting effects on American society before it gets the boot. In a new proposal for Medicaid, the federal government looks to change a few rules around and effectively cut payments made to hospitals and training doctors. One 477-bed hospital in Denver quotes an annual loss of $60 million. Prediction: low funding in hospitals means a cut-back on service, which means more sick people waiting.
The federal goverment retorted in saying that the $1.8 billion saved over 5 years will be worth it. This seems rather petty when over $2 trillion has been spent over the last 5 years for the military. Warped priorities aside, the side getting hit by the cuts isn’t exactly in the right either. According to an article in the New York Times, states were using “creative financing” to leech more and more money out of the Medicaid system. Surely, the federal government can think of some creative ways to close loop-holes than simply halting funding altogether.
The shock to the system will take effect in a few months, putting away the current 40-year old payment structure. After targeting the sick, old and disabled, Medicaid plans to introduce a Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy implying that all sick patients refrain from admitting to feeling unwell, since Medicaid won’t actually want to provide health-care payments anyway–nor will they have the budget to do so.