FLEMING HEALTH CARE REPEAL UPDATE

The New Health Care Reform Law One Year Later and Getting Worse by the Day

Today, on the one year anniversary since government-approved health care was signed into law, a look at the implementation of the new health care reform reveals how the legislation has failed to deliver on costs, premiums, spending, and preserving Americans’ existing coverage: 19 — States where parents can no longer buy child-only insurance policies as a result of the law 30 — States suing to block the law from taking effect, or requesting waivers from its requirements

51 — Percentage of American workers who will lose their current health coverage by 2013, according to the Administration’s own estimates
1,270 — New bureaucrats requested by the Internal Revenue Service to implement the law this year
$2,100 — Increase in individual insurance premiums due to Obamacare, according to the Congressional Budget Office
$2,500 — Premium reduction promised by candidate Obama “by the end of my first term as President”
6,578 — Pages of new regulations issued implementing Obamacare through March 14, 2011
800,000 — Reduction in the American labor force due to Obamacare provisions that “will effectively increase marginal tax rates, which will also discourage work,” according to the CBO
2,624,720 — Total individuals in 1,040 plans granted waivers thus far exempting them from the law’s insurance mandates; nearly half of whom participate in union plans
7,400,000 — Reduction in Medicare Advantage enrollment as a result of Obamacare, resulting in a loss of choice for seniors and millions of beneficiaries losing their current health plan
40,000,000 — Firms subject to the health law’s new 1099 reporting requirements, which the National Federation of Independent Business called a “tremendous new paperwork compliance burden”
$118,000,000,000 — New costs imposed on states to implement Obamacare—budgetary costs that will lead to reduced services for other state programs like education or to higher state taxes
$310,800,000,000 — Projected increase in health costs due to Obamacare, according to the independent Medicare actuary, who called its promise of lower costs “false, more so than true”
$552,200,000,000 — Amount of higher taxes Americans will pay if Obamacare remains in place
$1,390,000,000,000 — Federal spending on new entitlements during fiscal years 2012-2021 according to the CBO, a 48 percent increase from an earlier estimate

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU: Even though we have seen only a few of the law’s initial provisions take effect, American families and businesses are already facing higher costs, economic uncertainty, and loss of their current coverage. 

THE DOCTOR'S DIAGNOSIS: The new health care reform law is the prime example of how the Democrats’ tax hikes, spending spree, and heavy-handed government policies are hurting our economy and making it harder for small businesses to create jobs.  Removing these barriers will provide the businesses that create new jobs with the certainty they need to hire new employees and get our economy back on track.

I remain committed to reducing healthcare costs by providing access and choices for every American, protecting the patient-doctor relationship, and keeping the government out of the exam room.  I will work aggressively in Congress to repeal what I firmly believe to be an onerous and unconstitutional health care reform law and support market-based solutions to our health care needs.

Sincerely,


JOHN FLEMING, M.D.
Member of Congress

P.S. If you’d like more information, please take a minute to visit my website at www.fleming.house.gov or follow me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/repjohnfleming or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/repfleming

Gilbert Gottfried can't duck this one...

Spokesfowl Wanted 

By NU ONLINE NEWS SERVICE

Published 3/24/2011 

Aflac Inc. is planning a nationwide casting call to find the new voice of the Aflac Duck.

Aflac, Columbus, Ga. (NYSE:AFL), cut its ties with the previous voice of the duck, Gilbert Gottfried, after he responded to the March 11 earthquake and tsunamis in Japan by tweeting jokes about the disasters.

Aflac plans to hold auditions for the new voice of the duck in six U.S. cities in April. Job seekers can apply for the job online at http://quackaflac.com.

“Candidates will be judged on their ability to communicate an entire vocabulary in one word, Aflac, and how their voice can help the Aflac Duck sound informative, frustrated, happy, hurt, or angry, including grunts, groans, and mutterings, but no words other than Aflac,” Aflac says.

The duck has appeared in 52 Aflac commercials since 2000, helping to increase the company’s brand recognition to 93% today, from less than 10% in 2000, the company says.

 Allison Bell

Count me among this number

Government programs are facing challenged

Effects of TRICARE Change Unclear 

By NU ONLINE NEWS SERVICE

Published 3/21/2011 

The U.S. Department of Defense cannot tell whether a new TRICARE coordination of benefits rule is actually saving any money.”

Officials at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) have come to that conclusion after looking at the effects of Section 707 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 on TRICARE.

Total Defense Department health care spending has increased to $49 billion, or 9% of department spending, from $19 billion, or 6% of department spending, in 2001.

TRICARE is a program that the government uses to provide health coverage for military retirees, dependents and active-duty military personnel who seek care away from military and veterans facilities.

Section 707 now forbids employers with 20 or more employees from using financial incentives to encourage employees who might be eligible for TRICARE military retiree benefits to enroll in TRICARE.

Members of Congress were hoping the Section 707 change could save $436 million from 2010 through 2015.

In the real world, the department “reported that it was not able to determine the effects of Section 707 on TRICARE participation and costs after the law went into effect because of data limitations and multiple factors affecting the health insurance choices of retirees and their dependents under age 65,” Debra Draper, says in a letter summarizing the GAO’s findings.

Women Spend Far More on Long Term Care

Women Spend Far More on Long Term Care 

By NU ONLINE NEWS SERVICE

Published 3/18/2011 

The Society of Actuaries (SOA) has found a large gap between what average men and average women spend on long term care (LTC) after age 65.

Men spend an average of about 20% of their life past age 65 in a state of chronic disability, and women spend about 30%. Women also live longer.

Because of those differences, women tend to use formal, purchased long term care with an average value of about $124,000. The average for men is about $44,000.

Women also get an average of about 4,100 hours of informal community care after age 65; older men get an average of 3,250 hours of informal community care.

Eric Stallard, a researcher professor at Duke University, has compiled those figures in a report distributed by the SOA, Schaumburg, Ill., earlier this week.

Stallard came up with the LTC use and cost estimates using data from the National Long-Term Care Survey.

Consolidation in this area ios somewhat inevitable

Catalyst Will Buy Walgreens’ PBM for $525 Million

By Steve Davolt - March 9, 2011

In a prime example of the consolidation among PBMs that continues to gather momentum, Catalyst Health Solutions, Inc. announced today it is acquiring Walgreen Health Initiatives, Inc., the PBM unit of Walgreens Co., for $525 million.

The acquisition represents a huge expansion for publicly traded Catalyst, based in Rockville, Md., more than doubling its membership from 7 million to 18 million. Catalyst said it will “maintain a significant presence in the Chicago area, where WHI is based.”

“This is a significant milestone for Catalyst and an important next step in our long-term growth strategy,” David T. Blair, CEO of Catalyst, said in a statement. “Our combined expertise and best-in-class solutions will provide immediate value to our clients and members.”

The cash transaction will be underwritten with financing from Goldman Sachs Lending Partners LLC, Citi, SunTrust Bank and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. As a bonus, Catalyst agreed to provide PBM services to Walgreens’ 244,000 employees, dependents and retirees. Pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close by June 2011.

Obamacare Means One Third Fewer Doctors?

Obamacare Means One Third Fewer Doctors?

From the New England Journal Of Medicine:

Physician Survey: Health Reform May Lead to Significant Reduction in Physician Workforce

Mar. – Apr. 2010

What if nearly half of all physicians in America stopped practicing medicine? While a sudden loss of half of the nations physicians seems unlikely, a very dramatic decrease in the physician workforce could become a reality as an unexpected side effect of health reform.

The Medicus Firm, a national physician search firm based in Dallas and Atlanta, conducted a survey of over 1,000 physicians to determine their expectations as to the impact of health reform on their practices, income, job satisfaction, and future career plans. In discussing career plans as part of the recruitment process, physicians have increasingly expressed apprehension and uncertainty regarding health reform’s impact on their practices, and The Medicus Firm wished to investigate this trend further…

A total of 1,195 physicians from various specialties and career levels in locations nationally completed the survey.

The results from the survey, entitled “Physician Survey: Health Reform’s Impact on Physician Supply and Quality of Medical Care,” were intriguing, particularly in light of the most recently published career projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS predicts a more than a 22 percent increase in physician jobs during the ten-year period ending in 2018. This places physician careers in the top 20 fastest-growing occupations from 2008 to 2018. Meanwhile, nearly one-third of physicians responding to the survey indicated that they will want to leave medical practice after health reform is implemented.

“What many people may not realize is that health reform could impact physician supply in such a way that the quality of health care could suffer,” said Steve Marsh, managing partner at The Medicus Firm in Dallas. “The reality is that there may not be enough doctors to provide quality medical care to the millions of newly insured patients.”

It’s probably not likely that nearly half of the nation’s physicians will suddenly quit practicing at once. However, even if a much smaller percentage such as ten, 15, or 20 percent are pushed out of practice over several years at a time when the field needs to expand by over 20 percent, this would be severely detrimental to the quality of the health care system. Based on the survey results, health reform could, over time, prove to be counterproductive, in that it could decrease patients’ access to medical care while the objective is to improve access.

Furthermore, even if physicians are unable to act upon a desire to quit medicine, there could be an impact in quality of care due to a lack of morale in physicians who do continue to treat patients despite feeling significantly stressed…

Do physicians feel that health reform is necessary? The survey indicates that doctors do want change. Only a very small portion of respondents — about four percent — feel that no reform is needed. However, only 28.7 percent of physicians responded in favor of a public option as part of health reform. Additionally, an overwhelming 63 percent of physicians prefer a more gradual, targeted approach to health reform, as opposed to one sweeping overhaul. Primary care, which is already experiencing significant shortages by many accounts, could stand to be the most affected, based on the survey. About 25 percent of respondents were primary care physicians (defined as internal medicine and family medicine in this case), and of those, 46 percent indicated that they would leave medicine — or try to leave medicine — as a result of health reform.

Why would physicians want to leave medicine in the wake of health reform? The survey results, as seen in Market Watch, indicate that many physicians worry that reform could result in a significant decline in the overall quality of medical care nationwide.

Additionally, many physicians feel that health reform will cause income to decrease, while workload will increase. Forty-one percent of respondents feel that income and practice revenue will “decline or worsen dramatically” as a result of health reform with a public option, and 31 percent feel that a public option will cause income and practice revenue to “decline or worsen somewhat” as a result. This makes for a total of 72 percent of respondents who feel there would be a negative impact on income. When asked the same question regarding health reform implemented without a public option, a total of 50 percent of respondents feel that income and practice revenue will be negatively impacted, including 14 percent of total respondents who feel that income and practice revenue will “decline or worsen dramatically.” Additionally, 36 percent feel it would “decline or worsen somewhat.” …

This article was originally written in January 2010 and the study preceded that date. So the survey included the possibility of a ‘public option,’ which may have skewed the responses somewhat.

Even so, given the inevitability of an eventual ‘public option,’ it is quite disturbing.