News
I cannot think of anything better to raise the level of awareness than to have something written about one's causes. It probably does not matter if what is written has been taken out of context or manipulated. This is a prime example of the spin that the liberal press is so adept at doing.
My article describing the mandated and unfair 21.5 percent reduction of physician Medicare reimbursements was as much a complaint that physician incomes have been reduced as a warning that if this can happen to one segment of society, it can happen to you.
My article was also asking if those who voted for “change” still think they got what they thought they were voting for.
This has nothing to do with the fight for smaller government and fewer taxes. I happen to be a fiscal conservative. I also recognize the need for social programs to protect those who require assistance through no fault of their own.
Editor-Publisher Don Rogers unfairly projected me Friday in his column as simply wanting less government at the same time that I wanted more government involvement in my income. That is blatantly untrue. He apparently is uninformed.
Physicians have no voice in Medicare. We can be “participating” or “nonparticipating.” Participating physicians are bound by the fees that Medicare allows, period. Nonparticipating physicians have a slightly higher fee schedule but get paid by the patient at the time of service. The third option is to not accept Medicare.
My practice accepts Medicare as participating providers. We accept that status with all of the problems that come with it — problems such as providing a necessary service for which we do not get paid because the patient recently saw another physician for the same problem and did not inform us.
The fact is that Medicare represents less than 10 percent of my practice. The real impact for us is that many of our private insurance contracts are tied to a percent of Medicare-allowed reimbursements. This has zero to do with smaller government and taxes.
“Whiff of funny stuff”? I don't think so. There is nothing funny about the Medicare situation. There are physicians out there who are contemplating not seeing Medicare patients because they cannot afford the cuts.
Worse yet, there are physicians who will close their Medicare-dependent practices because they cannot afford to keep their offices open with these cuts.
“Hollering”? You bet! Hollering, not in the belittling “yada, yada” way you describe. No sir, hollering like the thousands of Paul Reveres in the grassroots groups that have become aware of the socialist direction in which our country is going.
We have a Congress of Democrats and Republicans that have brought us to this point. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the Postal Service and Amtrak are all broken and broke.
Now President Obama and the leadership in Congress want to add trillions of dollars to our debt and take control of the health care system (one-sixth of our economy) along with the auto industry and banking.
What we need now is to fix what has led to our country's disastrous financial condition. Fix what is broken before you add to our future generation's debt. I believe that the first step is to replace the deal-makers and those in Congress who represent themselves first with those who will respect the Constitution and truly respect and represent the people who elect them.
I am 69 years old and have six grandchildren younger than 10. I am concerned that they will never know the advantages that you and I have had. I am concerned that they may not reap the rewards of their efforts because of the “cradle to grave” mindset that is slowly creeping into our society.
In my case, I may not be around to explain to my grandchildren and great-grandchildren how and why the decisions and mistakes were made that burdened them with such enormous debt. They will, however, know that I did everything I could to try to make it a better world for them.
The real problem here is the lack of interest, load of ignorance and abundance of complacency which is rampant in our society. There are intelligent people out there who care more about the Oscars and “American Idol” than they do about getting involved in protecting the rights afforded to us by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Don, thank you for acknowledging the relationship I have with you and your family. By the way, Congress just mandated a 21.5 percent reduction in rates for my new advertising contract. Just kidding.
Dr. Michael Schneider is the organizer of the Vail Valley 9.12 Project.
My article describing the mandated and unfair 21.5 percent reduction of physician Medicare reimbursements was as much a complaint that physician incomes have been reduced as a warning that if this can happen to one segment of society, it can happen to you.
My article was also asking if those who voted for “change” still think they got what they thought they were voting for.
This has nothing to do with the fight for smaller government and fewer taxes. I happen to be a fiscal conservative. I also recognize the need for social programs to protect those who require assistance through no fault of their own.
Editor-Publisher Don Rogers unfairly projected me Friday in his column as simply wanting less government at the same time that I wanted more government involvement in my income. That is blatantly untrue. He apparently is uninformed.
Physicians have no voice in Medicare. We can be “participating” or “nonparticipating.” Participating physicians are bound by the fees that Medicare allows, period. Nonparticipating physicians have a slightly higher fee schedule but get paid by the patient at the time of service. The third option is to not accept Medicare.
My practice accepts Medicare as participating providers. We accept that status with all of the problems that come with it — problems such as providing a necessary service for which we do not get paid because the patient recently saw another physician for the same problem and did not inform us.
The fact is that Medicare represents less than 10 percent of my practice. The real impact for us is that many of our private insurance contracts are tied to a percent of Medicare-allowed reimbursements. This has zero to do with smaller government and taxes.
“Whiff of funny stuff”? I don't think so. There is nothing funny about the Medicare situation. There are physicians out there who are contemplating not seeing Medicare patients because they cannot afford the cuts.
Worse yet, there are physicians who will close their Medicare-dependent practices because they cannot afford to keep their offices open with these cuts.
“Hollering”? You bet! Hollering, not in the belittling “yada, yada” way you describe. No sir, hollering like the thousands of Paul Reveres in the grassroots groups that have become aware of the socialist direction in which our country is going.
We have a Congress of Democrats and Republicans that have brought us to this point. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the Postal Service and Amtrak are all broken and broke.
Now President Obama and the leadership in Congress want to add trillions of dollars to our debt and take control of the health care system (one-sixth of our economy) along with the auto industry and banking.
What we need now is to fix what has led to our country's disastrous financial condition. Fix what is broken before you add to our future generation's debt. I believe that the first step is to replace the deal-makers and those in Congress who represent themselves first with those who will respect the Constitution and truly respect and represent the people who elect them.
I am 69 years old and have six grandchildren younger than 10. I am concerned that they will never know the advantages that you and I have had. I am concerned that they may not reap the rewards of their efforts because of the “cradle to grave” mindset that is slowly creeping into our society.
In my case, I may not be around to explain to my grandchildren and great-grandchildren how and why the decisions and mistakes were made that burdened them with such enormous debt. They will, however, know that I did everything I could to try to make it a better world for them.
The real problem here is the lack of interest, load of ignorance and abundance of complacency which is rampant in our society. There are intelligent people out there who care more about the Oscars and “American Idol” than they do about getting involved in protecting the rights afforded to us by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Don, thank you for acknowledging the relationship I have with you and your family. By the way, Congress just mandated a 21.5 percent reduction in rates for my new advertising contract. Just kidding.
Dr. Michael Schneider is the organizer of the Vail Valley 9.12 Project.
