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Ask the Center!  See below for your questions and Center for Medicare Advocacy Senior Policy Attorney Vicki Gottlich's responses

Bring Fairness and Fiscal Soundness back to Medicare

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Thank you!

Facilitator — 01:59 PM Dec 01, 2006

Thanks to all who participated. Please tell your friends about this resource, and keep checking www.fairmedicare.org and www.medicareadvocacy.org for details on our next session.

Subsidies

Kelly S. — 01:51 PM Dec 01, 2006

Thank you.

Subsidies to private plans

Vicki Gottlich — 01:48 PM Dec 01, 2006

Plans get paid through a combination of beneficiary premiums and federal subsidies. The money to subsidise the cost of providing Medicare covered services are based on a number of factors, including characteristics of enrollees and location. They are paid directly to the plan.

Other subsidies, such as the one to encourage participation by new regional preferred provider organizations (i.e., PPOs that serve more than just a county or portion of a state) are paid to a health plan based on the type of health plan it is.

Subsidies

Kelly S. — 01:43 PM Dec 01, 2006

How do the subsidies paid to private plans to get them to participate in Medicare get paid out?

Availability of ALJs

Vicki Gottlich — 01:31 PM Dec 01, 2006

Yes, Medicare ALJs are now located in only 4 cities. Each of the ALJ sites serves a portion of the country. Beneficiaries and their advocates who are granted an in-person hearing are required to travel to the city where the ALJ is housed.

For example, attorneys in the Center's Connecticut office were told to come to Cleveland for an in-person hearing.

Negotiating prices

Vicki Gottlich — 01:29 PM Dec 01, 2006

Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, said the other day on Market Place that there is no reason why Medicare shouldn't be able to use its bulk purchasing power to negotiate drug prices. The VA already negotiates drug prices as do states for their Medicaid programs. Wal-Mart, too, has jumped into the fray, so why not Medicare?

Availability of an ALJ

Nedra Cuffee — 01:25 PM Dec 01, 2006

Is it true that ALJs are only located in 4 cities? Does this mean that beneficiaries must travel to one of these 4 locations if they wish to have a face-to-face hearing?

Negotiating Prices

Matt — 01:18 PM Dec 01, 2006

I read or heard the CMS administrator - or ACTING Administrator, anyway - say that all the talk about negotiating prices for Part D wasn't realistic. Is this true? Is it for lack of a system to handle it?

T. Braun - Medicare is good, but!

Vicki Gottlich — 01:09 PM Dec 01, 2006

Dr. Braun, your point is very well taken. Some school systems are attempting to teach healthy living, but enough isn't being done.

Medicare itself started a campaign this fall to promote preventive services and health.

The same can be said for simple finance education, including writing checks and financial planning.

Gida Kay's question re Medicare

Vicki Gottlich — 01:04 PM Dec 01, 2006

I think the money has been borrowed from the Social Security trust fund, which is different from the Medicare trust fund. The key with Medicare is that it was designed to rely on general revenue for much of its financing.

Welcome!

Facilitator — 10:33 AM Dec 01, 2006

This session is now open, and attorney Gottlich will now begin accepting questions. We will try to answer each question in order. If we do not get to your question in this hour, we will try to answer it after the session ends.

I think Medicre is Good..But!!!!!

T. Braun — 08:35 PM Nov 30, 2006

Hi! Why don't we encourge healthy living and health education from 1st grade on. That is the root cause of our problem with healthcare costs going beyond our ability to pay, wether it be by the federal government or the individual. We are in this country a victim of a life style that promotes sickness rather than health. That should be a prime tenet of your thesis for change!
T. Braun RPh

medicare

gilda kay — 07:11 PM Nov 30, 2006

I am confused. For years I have heard that the govt had been borrowing money from the medicare fund thereby causing medicare to be on the verge of bankruptcy. MOnies that has nevr been paid back and would no doubt have avoided the problem of touching medicare as it was...most successfully if I remember correctly. Is this true about the monies and if so how come it has never been brought up either in election discussions or put to our dear darling president who had ruined everything he has touched. He really has the midas touch....I would appreciate a response since no one has ever answered my question. thank you for listening.

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