Friday, February 11, 2011

Berwick Sidesteps Questions About Health Care Rationing

February 11th, 2011 Jim Angle, FoxNews.com

Dr. Donald Berwick, the man in charge of Medicare and at the heart of implementing President Obama’s health care law, faced a barrage of questions from House Republicans over concerns about the plan and on his own controversial past positions.
But Berwick mostly praised the embattled new law and sidestepped questions about his own opinions on government-run health care.
A main Republican concern about the law is that the $575 billion it requires in Medicare reductions will make it hard for seniors to find doctors and other providers.
“Medicare actuaries predict that because of the cuts in the Democrats’ health care law, 725 hospitals, 2,352 nursing homes and 1,587 home-health agencies will become unprofitable,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp noted in questioning Berwick Thursday.
Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, says 300 doctors in his state have already dropped Medicare patients…
Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., wanted to know if there was “anything at all” Berwick would change.
The two jousted for a few moments as Berwick declined to offer any flaws and finally, in a line reminiscent of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s famous claim that Congress needed “to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it,” Berwick finally offered the following: “Over time we are going to learn about this bill, sir….”
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