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HHS Subpoenaed Over Pilot Medicare Program That Shields Obamacare Cuts
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- Wednesday, 24 October 2012 13:18
- Written by Darrell Lect
Every aspect of Obamacare has a deceptive meaning. Take for example the Obamacare waivers. They were positioned as a way for organizations to receive a pass from the alleged health care reform law, but they were really designed to hide the true impact of Obamacare. A pilot program in Medicare Advantage is now the subject of a similar situation, forcing Congressman Darrell Issa (R - CA) to subpoena Health and Human Services (HHS) because the program shields seniors from the impact of the law until after the election.
In order to maintain support from senior citizens with Obamacare, the health care law was written in a way so that it's most devastating impacts wouldn't be seen until after the 2012 presidential election. Over 70% of Americans want the law repealed, and if they saw first hand how it impacted them, this election wouldn't even be a contest. It was a brilliant move by individuals that view Americans as pawns to control. However, little details emerge every so often that highlight the true impact of the law and the steps taken to hide the details.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa subpoenaed the Obama administration Monday for documents he believes will expose Medicare malfeasance by Department of Health and Human Services officials.
The move, confirmed by an aide to the California Republican, makes good on a threat Issa issued last week, when he demanded reams of data from HHS by 5 p.m. on Thursday. Although the agency dumped 1,300 pages at his doorstep just before the deadline, he contended that the information was garbled and unresponsive to his request.
Issa is seeking documents and communications related to a pilot program initiated by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in the Medicare Advantage program, which permits Medicare-eligible seniors to select a private health plan rather than traditional Medicare.
Medicare Advantage was due for substantial cuts authorized by the Affordable Care Act, but the pilot program provided quality bonus payments to the private insurance plans that are effectively offsetting more than 70 percent of the cuts this year, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Republicans have cried foul, arguing that the bonus payments were meant to blunt the impact of the health law’s cuts so seniors wouldn’t see any reductions before the election. Issa said the pilot program is the largest ever conducted by HHS and required the agency to waive budget neutrality rules in order to implement it.
But Democrats say the pilot is a justified effort to improve the quality of Medicare Advantage plans and that the program is still in line for a deep cut, even with the bonus payments.
This pilot Medicare program was no doubt intended to hide the fact that Obamacare guts Medicare Advantage, just like Obamacare guts Medicare by $716 billion. The assertion by Issa is that the bonuses from the pilot program were given to hide the cuts that are in store for the near future in order to insulate senior citizens from feeling the pain of Obamacare, thus not changing their vote in the upcoming election.
Every aspect of the Obama administration is a radical attempt to destroy the individual in America.
Darrell Lect is a contributing editor for Habledash.