The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late last night that it was not pausing all Medicare payments to doctors, after a statement hours earlier had asserted that it would. Instead, the agency will only wait to process claims that are related to programs that have expired, such as some telehealth or rural services.
That’s a relief for many. But I wonder what they mean about “rural services.” People in rural areas already have problems accessing health care.
Wendy
People in rural areas voted for this. Overwhelmingly.
I live in a rural area on the coast in far northern California. We tend very liberal with many conservative folk as well. That said, many rural areas that tend conservative have many liberal inhabitants. Also, just because someone is hoodwinked into a bad situation, doesn’t mean they deserve it.
Anybody who voted for the current establishment was not hoodwinked. No the liberals in rural areas are not to blame. Nobody suggested that. Who defines the voting patterns of rural areas? No response required
Voters are adults and they understand the politicians and their policies very well. The conservative movement takes pride in describing the other side as “low IQ” voters… probably some of that goes on the left too.
What is remarkable is unlike many politicians, Trump explicitly spelled out what he is going to do… you cannot blame that he didn’t say that in campaign trail. So we all voted for this.
They were not “hoodwinked.” Everyone knew exactly what they were voting for, with the possible exception of people who know nothing but still vote.
Voting is not perfect. You can get 49% of the vote and not get anything you want, heck with our cockmamie system you can occasionally get 51% of the vote and still lose.
It is a simple fact that, in the past few elections (and probably further) the more rural a community, the more likely it was to support the party promising tax cuts for billionaires and the evisceration of health care. Studies by PEW have confirmed it, as well as others.
It’s unfortunate that some people who voted the other way will get hurt, but that’s life. Some people who voted for Hoover got helped by FDR’s programs, some people who were helped by affirmative action decided it was a bad idea and have helped end it (see: Clarence Thomas).
I’m thinking of starting the “No Socialism” party.
End the subsidies for rural health care.
End the subsidies for rural airports, the Essential Air Service program.
Have people pay the cost of electricity including the per-mile cost of the infrastructure to reach them rather than have it normalized across all rate payers.
End farm subsidies.
End the rural housing service and the rural economic development programs.
Stop buying expensive mobile health vehicles; if people want health care let them come to a well established and permanent clinic.
End the special funding for rural broadband programs. Stop the Federally funded FCIC crop insurance program; if it’s commercially viable some private corporation will pick it up. If it’s not it should die.
There are a hundred, a thousand other programs that directly benefit rural people out of all proportion to the taxes they pay. We need to acquaint these folks with the benefits - by stopping them and letting them pull themselves up by their own bootstraps for a change.
Lot of good small government, free market ideas here.
“I’m from the government and I’m here to unhelp you.”
You have my vote! And I can probably manage an extra mail-in ballot or two if needed!
JimA