I’ve written about this before, but the behavior of the AMA and AARP has been so cynical that the tawdry tale bears repeating. Dick Morris does a good job of summing up the blatent bribery that led to their endorsements of the fraudulent House “reform” bill that passed this weekend:
The American Medical Association (AMA) was facing a 21 percent cut in physicians’ reimbursements under the current law. Obama promised to kill the cut if they backed his bill.
The AMA was bribed with a (temporary) reprieve from scheduled cuts in physician payments. So, what did the AARP get for betraying its members?
The AARP is one of the main suppliers of Medi-gap insurance … But President Bush-43 passed the Medicare Advantage program, which offered a subsidized, lower-cost alternative to Medi-gap … Presto! Obama solved their problem. He eliminates subsidies for Medicare Advantage.
AARP was bribed with 10 million new Medigap customers when the President and his accomplices in the House used their “reform” bill to kill the only competition (Medicare Advantage).
The “news” media have largely ignored this story. If the Press were doing its job, the public would know that the AMA doesn’t represent the majority of doctors and the AARP isn’t an advocacy groups.
The AMA represents fewer than 17% of practicing physicians, and the AARP is an insurance company.
[HT Paul Hsieh]
Post a Comment