Haggler-In-Chief?

[sciwizam]

Remember the promised $155 Billion cost savings from Big Hospital and $80 Billion from Big Pharma? Looks like we got a not so great deal..

NYT Blog : Hospitals see profit in White House Deal

Now acost-benefit breakdown quietly posted on the Web site of the Tennessee Hospital Association helps fills in the answer.

The breakdown estimates that the industry will receive about $171 billion in additional money over those same 10 years as a result of reimbursements for newly insured patients who would be covered under the overhaul plan. In other words, the hospitals would give up $155 billion in cost cuts, but take in $171 billion in new money ? a net gain of $16 billion.

What?s more, the Tennessee association notes that the deal delays most of the industry?s cost givebacks until the second half the agreement?s 10-year year period ? well after the hospitals have enjoyed some of the benefits of the new money they?re expecting from expanded insurance coverage.

But some experts wonder at the price of that political support. Alain Enthoven, a health economist at Stanford University, noted that $155 billion was only about 1.5 percent of total hospital revenue over 10 years ? even before taking into account the new, larger amount of money that hospitals can expect if more people have insurance.

?It is not giving a very serious volume discount,? Professor Enthoven said.

Greg Palast : $80 Billion dollars of WHAT?

I searched all over the newspapers and TV transcripts and no one asked the President what is probably the most important question of what passes for debate on the issue of health care reform: $80 billion of WHAT?

On June 22, President Obama said he'd reached agreement with big drug companies to cut the price of medicine by $80 billion. He extended his gratitude to Big Pharma for the deal that would, "reduce the punishing inflation in health care costs."

Hey, in my neighborhood, people think $80 billion is a lot of money. But is it?

I checked out the government's health stats (at HHS.gov), put fresh batteries in my calculator and totted up US spending on prescription drugs projected by the government for the next ten years. It added up to $3.6 trillion.

In other words, Obama's big deal with Big Pharma saves $80 billion out of a total $3.6 trillion. That's 2%.
.....

What did that cost us? The New England Journal of Medicine notes that 13 European nations successfully regulate the price of drugs, reducing the average cost of name-brand prescription medicines by 35% to 55%. Obama gave that up for his 2%.

The Veterans Administration is able to push down the price it pays for patent medicine by 40% through bargaining power. George Bush stopped Medicare from bargaining for similar discounts, an insane ban that Obama said he?d overturn. But, once within Tauzin?s hypnotic gaze, Obama agreed to lock in Bush?s crazy and costly no-bargaining ban for the next decade.

What else went down in Obama's drug deal? To find out, I called C-SPAN to get a copy of the videotape of the meeting with the drug companies. I was surprised to find they didn't have such a tape despite the President's campaign promise, right there on CNN in January 2008, "These negotiations will be on C-SPAN."
Cheney's secret meetings with lobbyists and industry bigshots were creepy and nasty and evil.

But the Obama crew's secret meetings with lobbyists and industry bigshots were, the President assures us, in the public interest.

We know Cheney's secret confabs were shady and corrupt because Cheney scowled out the side of his mouth.

Obama grins in your face.

See the difference?

The difference is 2%.

So, the hospitals, at best, gave us 1.5% or make an $16 Billion profit and the Drug companies fork over 2%.

What we are left with: broken promises of prescription drug price negotiations and negotiations on C-Span.

 

[DaveSimmons]

That's an interesting spin, to say the cost savings are worthless because they will be used for giving more people health care:

reimbursements for newly insured patients who would be covered under the overhaul plan.

Isn't that what you'd want to spend the savings on?

 

[JSt0rm]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
That's an interesting spin, to say the cost savings are worthless because they will be used for giving more people health care:

reimbursements for newly insured patients who would be covered under the overhaul plan.

Isn't that what you'd want to spend the savings on?

lol, no we need bombs dude... and tax cuts... Bombs and tax cuts.