Larry Kissell ad

What an asshole.

Numerous Nancy supporters in the District got these pieces in the mail late last week.

To paraphrase the late great Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but no one is entitled to their own facts.”

One question that has not been asked or answered is, “are the programs Larry Kissell is bragging about defending, worth defending?”. The answer is, probably not. Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on much nowadays, but one thing they do agree on is that the home health services and hospice care programs in Medicare should be cut. In March 2009, MEDPAC (which is bi-partisan commission that advises Congress on Medicare) voted UNANIMOUSLY to suggest certain changes to HHS and Hospice Care. After extensive study MEDPAC concluded that these cost saving measures would not result in any decline in patient care. In fact the proposed cost saving measures where more likely to IMPROVE patient care than to hurt patient care! You can view the reports at:

http://www.medpac.gov/chapters/Mar09_Ch02A.pdf

http://www.medpac.gov/chapters/Mar09_Ch02E.pdf

http://www.medpac.gov/chapters/Mar09_Ch06.pdf

Among the findings of the reports:

1)The current system policies allows for conflicts of interests where some health care providers have a financial incentive to recommend hospice care. Correspondingly their have been in an increase in reports of some hospices engaging in “misleading marketing and admissions policies”.

2) Profit margins for HHS providers are generous, and this has led to a dramatic increase in the number of for profit HHA providers. As a result there are far more HHA providers than are needed to provide adequate service to the population.

3) Co-responding to the increase number of HHS providers has been a rise in the percentage of HHS patients for which hospital stays are required. This suggests that increased number of HHA may also results in a REDUCTION in the quality the HHS care that is provided patients!

After reviewing these reports, my question is, “who is Larry Kissell trying to protect?”. Is he trying to protect seniors who need good medical care, or is he trying to protect for profit health care providers who are increasing their profits while patient care deteriorates?

When Kissell says he “promised not to cut Medicare”, who did he make the promise to? Did he make it to seniors who are concerned about quality care, or did he make the promise to health care providers who fear that their profit margins will be cut?

One of the major reasons I am a democrat is because I see on a variety of issues (such as global warning) Democrats tend to examine all the details before forming a conclusion, where as Republicans are content to cherry pick facts and cite antecdotal cases that make good talking points.

I know the reports at the links I included are long and tedious, but if you bother to read them I think you find them unbiased and extensively well researched. If Larry Kissell, or any of his defenders, want to dispute these reports I wish they would counter with a report equally as detailed.