Life In The Corporate State
This strikes me as typical of life in the corporate state.
- The Administration champions a plan to save $11.5 billion through lower Medicare reimbursement rates (we can argue about whether this is simply sensible procurement strategy or a mindless price control, but won't today).
- The Administration gives back $8 billion, or 70%, of these savings to the providers through another program. It is unclear what criteria are used to select who gets the money and who does not, so I think we can assume political ass-kissing probably comes into play
Through this right-hand-left-hand game, the Administration can claim $11.5 billion in savings that don't actually occur; claim that the "cuts" are not hurting service, since they are giving the cuts back; while creating yet another multi-billion dollar fund that can be distributed to friends and supporters.
