Luntz falsely suggests health reform legislation reduces physician payments
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on August 27th, 2009 4:47 am by HL
Luntz falsely suggests health reform legislation reduces physician payments
GOP pollster Frank Luntz claimed on Fox News’ Hannity that Democratic health reform proposals would “cut Medicare reimbursement,” which would lead to “denial of coverage” because “[i]f you don’t give doctors the money, they won’t do the procedures.” However, the House tri-committee health reform bill actually increases projected physician reimbursements by $245 billion compared to current law.
From the August 25 edition of Fox News’ Hannity:
SEAN HANNITY (host): It used to be health care reform. Now it’s health insurance reform. They keep saying choice and competition. So you can see that they’re applying this — as this has failed, they’re using the new terminology, right?
LUNTZ: Oh, it’s fascinating to watch. But you notice he said cost control. What he should have said was ending waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.
Now, here’s the problem when you get to the details. Medicare is a great example. Barack Obama never said that he’s going to cut Medicare benefits for seniors. But what he did say is that he’s going to cut Medicare reimbursement. And this is something I challenged the organization Media Matters, because they simply got it wrong. It’s like they’ve got high school interns doing their research.
There’s a difference between Medicare benefits and reimbursement. But I say to everyone over age 65, do you understand what cutting Medicare reimbursement means?
HANNITY: Right.
LUNTZ: Less doctors will want to take Medicare recipients; less hospitals will welcome them. It’s going to mean denial of coverage. That’s exactly what a reimbursement does. If you don’t give doctors the money, they won’t do the procedures.
Luntz: “cutting Medicare reimbursement” means not “giv[ing] doctors the money”
Luntz suggested proposed Medicare reimbursement cuts would reduce doctor payments. During the August 25 edition of Hannity, Luntz asserted: “[D]o you understand what cutting Medicare reimbursement means? Less doctors will want to take Medicare recipients; less hospitals will welcome them. It’s going to mean denial of coverage. That’s exactly what a reimbursement does. If you don’t give doctors the money, they won’t do the procedures.”
House bill cancels scheduled 21 percent physician payment cut
House tri-committee bill replaces scheduled reduction in physician payment with “inflation-based update.” The House bill 7/22/09]
