Schumer said the Medicaid crisis is particularly bad in New York because it is one of only a few states in the country where Counties shoulder a significant share of the cost of Medicaid. In New York, the federal government pays 50 percent of Medicaid costs, with the State and Counties splitting the remainder. Thirty states place NO DIRECT BURDEN AT ALL on their local property taxpayers because the cost of Medicaid is split entirely by state and federal governments, and the remaining states require Counties to contribute only a modest share of the administrative costs of Medicaid.
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Can somebody explain to me how, and WHY we have the situation, that NY, especially ERIE CO has to pick up the major portion of medicaid, while "Thirty states place NO DIRECT BURDEN AT ALL on their local property taxpayers because the cost of Medicaid is split entirely by state and federal governments, and the remaining states require Counties to contribute only a modest share of the administrative costs of Medicaid." ?
"Texas Gov. Rick Perry last week said his state and others may go bankrupt unless they get additional federal assistance for their Medicaid programs."
Don't they get WAY MORE help for medicaid than us? Like 70 percent?
It is getting so very, very hard, to find anything, and I mean "ANYTHING" good, that all our legislatures have done, that helps, or benefits this area, at ALL for this area.
Highest this, worst that, lowest this,we pay the most this.... &^#%& !!!
More crappy news, as usual
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The US health care system is the most expensive in the world on a per person basis. It's about to become even more costly thanks to drug legislation enacted in 2003. The Bush administration told Congress that new drug legislation would cost $400 billion in 2003. After the law was passed, the White House revised the costs upward to $534 billion. This month the administration said the figure was closer to $720 billion. Critics charge that government contributions to health care too often benefit corporate interests, not patients.
US federal health care spending is out of control, and putting states at risk of bankruptcy. Many factors contribute to the crisis but two main ones stand out.
First, the system is designed to support business over patients, and to protect predatory pricing for drugs and access to new medical technologies.
Second, private insurance and government policies specifically disallow early diagnosis and preventive treatments for epidemic infectious diseases. These policies create a domino effect of new crises, including: greater opportunities for transmission; higher costs for late-stage emergency interventions; and rapidly increasing costs to support widespread early disability and dysfunction.
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original news source: www.usatoday.com
The nation's tab for health care - already the highest per person in the industrialized world - could hit $3.6 trillion by 2014, or nearly 19% of the entire U.S. economy, up from 15.4% now, a sobering government projection says.
Growth in health care spending will outpace economic growth through the next decade, and the government will pick up an increasing share of the tab.
While the growth of health insurance premiums will continue to slow, the annual increases will still exceed growth in workers' disposable income. More could become uninsured as a result.
And as spending rises, public health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid will pay an increasing proportion, hitting 49% of all spending by 2014, up from 45.6% in 2003: “That could have important implications for the budget as a whole,” says the government.
“We all know the current system is not sustainable: Health care cannot keep rising faster than gross domestic product,” says Eugene Steuerle, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute. But, he says, the United States has been unwilling to embrace ways to control rising spending: limits on care and prices set by insurers or the government.
Marilyn Moon, a health economist at the American Institutes for Research, says the United States has the money to spend on health care but often uses it on other things, such as tax cuts or expensive autos.
Health care costs for public programs are already straining many state budgets: Texas Gov. Rick Perry last week said his state and others may go bankrupt unless they get additional federal assistance for their Medicaid programs. Many states have already made cuts to Medicaid. And they may have to do more: President Bush's 2006 budget proposes shaving $40 billion from the federal share of Medicaid over 10 years...
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Pfizer's 4Q PROFIT QUADRUPELS
The world's largest drug-maker said in a statement on Wednesday that its 4Q04 earnings increased to $2.83 billion or $0.39 per share, representing 470% growth from the $602 million or $0.08 per share level posted for the year-ago quarter. The company's 4Q04 earnings, excluding one-time items that include charges related to acquisitions and discounted operations, were $4.39 billion or $0.58 per share. Pfizer reported 4Q04 sales of $14.92 billion, representing 7% y/y growth.
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Off the Charts: Pay, Profits and Spending by Drug Companies.
Refuting industry claims that high drug prices are necessary to sustain research and development efforts.
HIGH DRUG PRICES TO ADVERTISING, PROFITS, AND ENORMOUS EXECUTIVE SALARIES
The report also documents profligate spending on compensation packages for top pharmaceutical executives. The executive with the highest compensation package in the year 2000, exclusive of unexercised stock options, was William C. Steere, Jr., Pfizer's Chairman, who made $40.2 million. The executive with the highest amount of unexercised stock options was C.A. Heimbold, Jr., Bristol-Myers Squibb's Chairman and CEO, who held $227.9 million in unexercised stock options.
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I'm so glad these people got tax breaks. They need it.
Is G.W.B. way, way, way, out of touch in his marble castle, or is it just me? We really have no right to bother him. His too busy elsewhere!
OIL AND DRUG$ - APPARENTLY THEY DO MIX VERY WELL, (WITH THE RIGHT HELP)
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