Combatting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in the Medicare Program

 Chris Jacobs’ September 17 opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, “Now the Republicans Want to Raid Medicare,” vacillates between complimenting Congress for proposing to take a bite of the apple in implementing a site-neutral payment reform and accusing Republicans of “raiding Medicare.” Which is it?

Policymakers and experts from across the political spectrum, including the Brookings Institution, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and the Heritage Foundation, support site-neutral payment. Taxpayers should not be on the hook for and Medicare beneficiaries should not receive “doctor’s office care at hospital prices,” as former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and the America First Policy Institute’s Charlie Katebi noted in their Wall Street Journal op-ed. With the Congressional Budget Office estimating net savings of $800 million and the bill codifying price transparency, does Jacobs not support transparent prices and seniors paying less for care?

Jacobs is wrong to accuse Republicans of raiding Medicare to pay for programs created by the Affordable Care Act. The National Health Service Corps has been around since 1970, while federal funding for community health centers dates back to 1965. Politicians of both parties have reauthorized and expanded these programs over the intervening decades, including as part of the ACA.

Perfect policy should not be the enemy of good policy. Cutting wasteful spending in a way that protects patients is a prudent policy. Paying more for the same service just because a different name is on the front door is nonsensical. Doctor’s office care at hospital prices is a bad deal, and Congress is right to correct it.

https://www.aei.org/health-care/combatting-fraud-waste-and-abuse-in-the-medicare-program/