Medicare

On Tuesday, I'm lucky to be speaking at Home Dialyzors United's third-annual meet up and conference in Baltimore. As an end stage renal disease patient currently doing home hemodialysis treatment, this is an issue I am passionate about. And, mostly because I'm an actual home dialysis patient, I'm able to attend the conference — since my dialysis travels with me — to speak firsthand about the benefits of home dialysis and help spread the word. It's an important conversation that I don't think happens nearly enough.

Nearly 70 elderly patients and vulnerable adults must find new homes because of the planned closure of Harborside Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Baltimore, a sprawling facility with numerous fire hazards uncovered in a recent state inspection. The nursing home - the first in Maryland to accept AIDS patients in 1985 - will shut down within the next month after Medicaid and Medicare stop paying for patient care. The federal health care programs decided to cut off funding after a March inspection by the state found more than 30 safety violations, primarily due to structural problems.

With Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri refusing to leave the race for the U.S. Senate seat, the distractions are guaranteed to keep coming ("Akin fights on, says he's 'standing on principle,'" Aug. 23). Despite his apologies and retraction, and despite Governor Mitt Romney's condemnation of the remarks, the focus for the next week will be on abortion. It doesn't matter that the Romney ticket has stated that they support abortion for victims of rape and incest, they will be lumped together with the more rabid anti-abortion faction of the Republican Party.

Paul Ryan on the Republican ticket with Mitt Romney gives us a clear picture of where our country is headed if this team gets elected. The power of the wealthy will expand at the expense of the middle class and the poor. Medicare is just one example. Instead of the coverage on which seniors now depend, a limited amount of vouchers will be issued to purchase the best deal you can get from an insurance company that's in business to make as much profit as possible. And you're on your own beyond what the insurance company will pay. By contrast, Democrats will keep Medicare strong and solvent, with up to 80 percent of your medical bills paid no matter how big they are. The Republican plan would be devastating to individuals and families.

With all the political drama going on concerning Medicare from both parties, it baffles me that President Barack Obama has ignored his legal responsibilities regarding the "Medicare trigger. " That trigger (covered under Section 1105 of Title 31 of the U.S. Code) is a forecast from the Medicare trustees that general revenues will be required for 45 percent or more of the program's outlays within a seven-year period, which signals that Medicare is financially unsustainable. The president is required to respond to Congress, but though the Medicare trustees issued a warning in 2009, 2010, 2011, and again this spring, President Obama has ignored the law each year and failed to submit the required budgetary legislation to Congress.

Are the Republicans really that stupid, or has telling lies become such a way of life for them that they can't keep them all straight? I see in the paper from Republican babbling heads like Bob Ehrlich, as well as their cadre of misinformed letter writers, their new "talking point" that President Obama has not issued any plans for Medicare ("Ryan is a good pick - but very risky," Aug. 18). What drug do these guys take that seems to remove 90 percent of their brains? The president already has a plan.

Gov. Martin O'Malley, President Obama's go-to surrogate during the summer election season, slammed Republican candidate Mitt Romney Sunday morning on Medicare and taxes during an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press. The Maryland Democrat squared off against a familiar foil, Republican Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, as the two presented the talking points for their respective presidential candidates during a quarter-hour segment hosted by David Gregory. O'Malley, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, labeled Romney's choice for vice president, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, as "the leader of the Tea Party Republican Congress" and said the party tickets present a clear choice for the American people.

As a radiation oncologist here in Bel Air, I wanted to share an issue that could affect the cancer treatment of a great many of our friends and neighbors. Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a change to the way free standing radiation oncology practices are reimbursed for their services. The end result is a $300 million cut to cancer care, which will have unfortunate consequences for patients who require radiation treatment. Most patients with cancer require radiation treatments in the course of their care.

The Sunday Baltimore Sun editorial regarding the selection of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's running mate ("The wrong vision," Aug. 12), is flat wrong. The fact that The Baltimore Sun believes in sending more money to the federal government for programs that are currently mismanaged, overfunded and overblown, is an unfortunate but forgivable ignorance. I can believe that the view is based upon a noble if naive conviction that throwing more money into a hole will solve any problem. However, the notion that any money from tax increases would be used to pay down the debt or help the poor is laughable at best.

Four doctor groups across Maryland have been chosen by the federal Department of Health and Human Services for a program that aims to cut health costs and better coordinate care for Medicare recipients. The program named 89 new groups in 40 states to become Accountable Care Organizations under the federal health care reform law. That brings the total already signed up for the voluntary program to 154, according to federal health officials. The groups share in savings realized through the more coordinated care.