Krugman, Noonan Agree: Just Build on Medicare

This could be the last chance to rein in Medicare costs

(NEWSER) - Centrist senators worried about the fiscal burden of the health care bill should be asking themselves what will happen if it doesn't pass, writes Paul Krugman. The legislation almost certainly represents the last chance to rein in Medicare costs, the main cause of projected future deficits, before they cause a budget catastrophe, Krugman writes in the New York Times. More»

(NEWSER) - The mob-like scenes at recent town halls are "something new and ugly," writes Paul Krugman, who notes that 2005's protests against Social Security privatization never saw baying crowds and congressmen hanged in effigy. The New York Times columnist is unconvinced that the mobs are in the pay of well-organized conservative groups. Rather, they're genuinely angry—and are nursing "the same cultural and racial anxiety that's behind the birther movement." More»

Kennedy-helmed HELP committee delivers feasible, cheap plan

(NEWSER) - The Congressional Budget Office has spoken: We can afford universal health care. Sure, we should have known that all along, writes Paul Krugman of the New York Times. Every other advanced country has it and spends less than we do. But last week the notoriously tight-pursed CBO scored a proposal from Ted Kennedy’s HELP committee that would insure just about everyone, and offer a public option. Total cost over the next decade? $597 billion. More»

Fraud-fighters finding it hard to stay ahead of shell companies

(NEWSER) - Fraudsters using complicated networks of ghost companies are sucking hundreds of millions of dollars out of Medicare every year and it's a bit like taking candy from a baby, a Reuters investigation finds. The probe—which officials say will likely lead to a criminal investigation of the firms involved—found that the "companies" of many Medicare providers are registered to nonexistent addresses, or the addresses of abandoned buildings. The thieves use stolen doctor and patient data to bill Medicare for as much money as possible in a short time. More»

Donald Berwick says 20-30% of health care spending helps no one

(NEWSER) - Between 20% and 30% of all US health care spending is pure “waste,” according to departing Medicare and Medicaid chief Donald Berwick. “Much is done that does not help patients at all, and many physicians know it,” Berwick said in an interview with the New York Times on Thursday, his last day on the job. He cited overtreatment of patients, the failure to coordinate care, complex administrative systems, burdensome regulations, and fraud as the main reasons for the “extremely high level of waste.” More»