Where is all the CPI buzz coming from?? [View All]

[Peacetrain]

I am listening to the Wolf Blitzer interview with the President repeat on CNN.. and he asked him two or three times if he was going to change CPI.. and what he said is that he is looking at changes on what providers would get so that beneficiaries would not end up with a decreasing benefit..

So I went and pulled the text to read it for myself.

http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/16/pres-obama-ultimately-the-buck-stops-with-me-im-going-to-be-accountable/


"You, yourself, have said you support modest modifications in Medicare. Give me specifics.

OBAMA: Well, what I'm going do - I'm not going to make news here, Wolf, in terms of what a comprehensive plan would look like - but what's I've consistently said is that Medicare, health - and health care costs generally are out of control. That the health reforms that we initiated are starting to reduce those costs, but we're going to have to do more, particularly around Medicare and Medicaid.

BLITZER: Changing the cost of living index - ?

OBAMA: What we - what we –

BLITZER: - which would reduce the amount of money for Medicare, Social Security recipients?

OBAMA: As much as possible, what we'd like to do is actually reduce the cost of health care, as opposed to just shifting the cost from the government to seniors. That - that –

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: But a change in the cost of living, is that something you're open to?

OBAMA: The problem with some of the proposals we've seen, including some of the proposals coming out of the House of Representatives and the Republicans there, is they don't really address what they - what it takes to reduce costs.

What they say is, senior citizens, we're going to voucherize it, and whatever inflation there is you're going to have to cover out of pocket. So seniors might have to spend $6,000 more.

What we say is are there modifications that can change the delivery system and how health care is delivered so that you don't have to take five tests, you take one; so that providers are not ordering unnecessary procedures, but focusing on what actually works.

The more we can do those kinds of changes - and, in some cases, you know, that involves empowering consumers to make better choices, then we can hopefully control these costs without seeing any radical change to the basic structure of Medicare.