Obama More Flexible on Medicare Than Rhetoric Suggests

[WestVirginiaRebel]

National Journal:

In his convention speech in Charlotte, President Obama vowed to block the Republican Medicare reform plan because “no American should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies.”

But back in Washington, his Health and Human Services Department is launching a pilot program that would shift up to 2 million of the poorest and most-vulnerable seniors out of the federal Medicare program and into private health insurance plans overseen by the states.

The administration has accepted applications from 18 states to participate in the program, which would give states money to purchase managed-care plans for people who are either disabled or poor enough to qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. HHS approved the first state plan, one for MassachusettsMassachusettsPopulation (2010): 6,547,629Registered Voters: 11.30% R, 36.50% D, 52.20% I Governor: Gov. Deval Patrick (D)Senators: Sen. John Kerry (D), Sen. Brown ®, last month.

Obama’s 2010 health reform law allows experimentation in delivering health care at lower cost through demonstration projects. Many states would like permission to shift their entire population of so-called dual-eligible beneficiaries into the new plans. HHS has indicated that it will enroll about 2 million beneficiaries, out of about 7 million who qualify for full benefits from both government health programs.

CaliforniaCaliforniaPopulation (2010): 37,253,956Registered Voters: 31.00% R, 44.10% D, 24.90% I Governor: Gov. Jerry Brown (D)Senators: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) Read Full Almanac Profile » is already counting on more than $500 million in budget savings from its own program this year. Most states are proposing to automatically enroll people. Those who don’t want to participate would need to opt out. The Massachusetts plan includes that feature.

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He was against it before he was for it...