{"id":2188686,"date":"2024-02-29T03:41:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T08:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bait-and-switch-health-care-package-illustrates-washingtons-addiction-to-spending\/"},"modified":"2024-02-29T03:46:18","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T08:46:18","slug":"bait-and-switch-health-care-package-illustrates-washingtons-addiction-to-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bait-and-switch-health-care-package-illustrates-washingtons-addiction-to-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington\u2019s spending addiction is evident in the deceptive health care package"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbait-and-switch-health-care-package-illustrates-washingtons-addiction-to-spending%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2188686&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Lawmakers \u200cAddicted to Government Spending<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You can say this about \u200dWashington: Members\u200c of Congress are nothing if not predictable when it comes to their addiction to more government spending.<\/p>\n<p>Back\u200c in September, I wrote the following \u2064about a health care package House leadership wanted to bring \u2062to the floor for a vote: &#8220;The transparency provisions [in the legislation] ultimately amount \u2064to fancy window dressing \u2014 the proverbial lipstick on the pig. The main driver of this legislation\u200c \u2014 the thing \u2062that makes it &#8216;must-pass&#8217;\u2064 \u2014 comes from its spending.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Nearly six\u200c months later, and what do\u200b you know? \u2064Lawmakers appear ready to ditch the transparency provisions, which would leave nothing \u2062but the spending provisions intact. So much for Congress&#8217;s desire \u200bto &#8220;reform&#8221;\u2064 health care.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Rumored Objections<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Multiple Capitol Hill publications reported Monday and\u2063 Tuesday that talks on\u2064 the health \u200dcare package had hit the\u2063 skids. Roll Call noted that lawmakers were &#8220;now working on a pared-down deal that could exclude \u2063the vast majority of health proposals previously in the \u200bworks, including legislation to codify\u2064 and strengthen price transparency rules \u200b [and] crack down on practices of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thanksgiving-table-setter-a-guide-to-the-behemoth-build-back-better-act\/\" title=\"Thanksgiving Table Setter: A Guide to the Behemoth Build Back Better Act\">pharmacy benefit managers<\/a>,&#8221;\u2064 or\u2064 PBMs.<\/p>\n<p>These\u200b Capitol Hill\u2062 publications, citing numerous \u2063lobbyists, because <em>of course<\/em> lobbyists know the details of legislation before most members of Congress do, claim \u200cthat several objections have stifled the broader health care package. In particular, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., wants to \u200capply the PBM provisions to\u2062 all forms of\u2062 health insurance, including those in the private marketplace, while the House legislation would confine the changes \u200conly to \u2063government programs \u2063like Medicare\u2063 and\u200b Medicaid.<\/p>\n<p>Apparently,\u2063 Democrats\u200d also \u200cobject to\u2064 using Medicare funding to \u2063pay \u200dfor spending outside\u2064 the Medicare program, \u2064as the House legislation did. That \u200dobjection seems highly disingenuous\u2064 coming from a party that repeatedly raided Medicare to\u200c pay for its big-spending \u2063legislation. That said, lawmakers should find other \u2063sources to fund\u2063 spending than a functionally insolvent Medicare program.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Lawmakers Spend, Spend, Spend<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>With\u2064 the transparency and \u2064PBM provisions facing various objections, \u200dwhat elements of the health\u200b care package remain? Politico provides a nice summary:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Lawmakers are\u2062 eyeing\u2063 a smaller package that would address extenders that would secure funding for\u200b community health centers, boost \u2062payment for doctors under Medicare, and avert cuts to disproportionate share hospitals,\u200b according to three of the lobbyists.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In other\u2064 words, \u200cthe smaller \u200cpackage \u2062contains three provisions that would 1) spend money, 2) spend money,\u200d and 3) \u2063spend \u200dmoney.<\/p>\n<p>As noted above, this package wouldn&#8217;t include \u2064the fig leaf of health\u2063 care &#8220;reform&#8221; included in \u2063the House bill\u200d from late last year.\u200b But it would contain additional Medicare spending on a physician payment &#8220;fix&#8221; that House leaders excluded from their bill \u200dlast fall.\u200b To top it off, Roll Call notes that\u200d &#8220;Senate [Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee] Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is asking\u200b for billions of dollars\u2062 more \u2063in community\u2063 health center funding than what\u2064 was included \u200cin a bipartisan House bill&#8221; \u2014 even though that House \u2064bill already included spending increases for the \u200chealth centers.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Big Spending\u200c Train Continues<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In sum: House\u2062 Republicans who bought into the notion late last year that they would vote to pass a health \u200b&#8221;reform&#8221; \u200bpackage got sold a \u200bbill of goods.\u200b Leadership \u200bin both chambers has effectively decided\u2063 to do a &#8220;bait-and-switch,&#8221; removing the\u200b substantive policy changes to leave a bunch\u2062 of spending programs\u200b behind. \u2064And they will slap this spending package onto one or more\u2063 appropriations bills \u2062\u2014 \u200ceither \u2062a massive omnibus \u200dor slightly smaller\u200b &#8220;minibuses&#8221; \u2014 that will\u2062 spend even more money, and that members of Congress \u200dwill not have \u200dtime to read or understand.<\/p>\n<p>But the \u2063real kicker comes in the fact that these health care spending programs will almost\u2064 certainly \u2064see only temporary extensions, hence the name \u200d&#8221;extenders.&#8221; \u200cThat moniker doesn&#8217;t mean\u200c those \u200bprograms won&#8217;t \u2064get extended for\u2064 years, and\u200d likely \u2063decades, to come. Instead,\u2062 Congress will only extend these spending programs in one- or two-year increments, to disguise their true costs.<\/p>\n<p>In other words:\u200c Lawmakers \u2063suckered by the &#8220;bait-and-switch&#8221; last fall will get asked to foot the bill for these spending programs again, in a year\u200d or two, when the bill for \u200dthe expiring provisions again comes due. As with\u200d my\u2064 missive back in September, don&#8217;t \u200csay you weren&#8217;t warned.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How does\u2062 the prioritization of spending over meaningful\u2063 reforms and transparency measures impact the healthcare system?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u2062Ge appears to prioritize spending over any meaningful reforms \u2064or transparency measures in the healthcare system. Lawmakers\u200b are \u2062once\u2063 again demonstrating their \u2064addiction to government\u2064 spending, with little regard for\u2062 the consequences or the long-term sustainability of such actions.<\/p>\n<p>The removal of transparency provisions from \u2064the healthcare package is particularly concerning. These provisions aimed to address issues regarding price transparency and the practices of pharmacy benefit managers \u2064(PBMs). By excluding these provisions, lawmakers are effectively\u2062 allowing these problems to persist, further burdening consumers and limiting their ability to make\u200d informed decisions about their healthcare.<\/p>\n<p>The reported objections to the broader healthcare package also raise questions about the\u2064 priorities of lawmakers. While some objections, such\u2063 as wanting to apply the PBM provisions to all forms of health insurance, may \u2063be valid, others seem disingenuous at best. The objection of Democrats to using Medicare\u200d funding for spending outside \u2064of the program is \u200bparticularly hypocritical, considering their own history of raiding Medicare\u200c funds for their own big-spending legislation. It is clear that lawmakers need to \u2062find alternative sources of funding for their spending,\u200b rather than relying\u200c on a program that is already struggling financially.<\/p>\n<p>So, what is left in the healthcare package after\u2062 stripping \u200caway the transparency and \u2064PBM provisions? \u200dAccording to Politico, lawmakers are now focusing on a smaller \u2062package that includes funding\u200b for community health\u200d centers, payment boosts for doctors under Medicare, and averting cuts to disproportionate \u2062share \u2064hospitals. \u2063While these may be important issues to address, it is concerning that the package \u2063seems to revolve\u200b solely around \u200cspending more taxpayer dollars. There is no mention of any meaningful \u2064reforms or cost-saving\u2063 measures \u200cthat could help make the healthcare system more efficient \u2062and affordable.<\/p>\n<p>This pattern of lawmakers prioritizing\u2063 spending over everything else is not sustainable in the long run. With mounting national debt and an already bloated government, it is imperative that lawmakers start prioritizing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hud-unlikely-to-get-bidens-budget-recommendations-lawmakers-tell-secretary-fudge\/\" title=\"HUD\" Doubtful\" to Receive Budget Recommendations from Biden, Lawmakers Inform Secretary Fudge\">responsible fiscal policies<\/a> and \u200dmeaningful reforms. Continuing on this path of unchecked government spending will only exacerbate the problems we already face in our healthcare system and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-businesswoman-deborah-flora-announces-senate-run-will-target-indoctrination-pervading-our-schools\/\" title=\"Republican Businesswoman Deborah Flora Announces Senate Run, Will Target \u2018Indoctrination Pervading Our Schools\u2019\">burden future generations<\/a> with even more debt.<\/p>\n<p>It is time for lawmakers to break free from their addiction to \u2063government spending and start prioritizing the needs\u200b of the American people. Only through responsible fiscal policies and meaningful reforms can we \u2062hope to create a healthcare system that is both affordable and effective for all. The \u2063time for action\u2063 is now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To nothing more than empty promises. It&#8217;s no surprise that Congress continues to prioritize their insatiable desire for increased government spending. In September, I expressed my skepticism towards the proposed health care package, highlighting its lack of transparency. Unfortunately, my concerns remain valid as the legislation fails to deliver on its promises<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2188687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/35500892446_92c8f6ee81_k.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2188686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/35500892446_92c8f6ee81_k.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2188686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2188686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2188686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2188687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2188686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2188686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2188686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}