Shocking: Criticism of Drug Benefit Is Simple: It's Bewildering, because normally when the feds get involved in a massive new benefit, it is typically streamlined, efficient and easy to understand. Not to mention the fact that Congress always writes parsimonious and crystal clear legislation normally, correct?
This complexity, they say, may be daunting and confusing to beneficiaries, and even to insurance companies, which are supposed to manage the new benefits.
More shocks: having to compromise is part of what generated the complexity. Imagine that.
Much of the complexity results from an effort to find a grand compromise on one of the longest-running divisions in American social policy: how much to trust the government and how much to trust the market. New rules to protect beneficiaries are grafted onto a bill intended to create a vibrant new health insurance market for the elderly.
And, no joke:
Some lawmakers point out that complexity is nothing new in American health care. "Medicare, by definition, is an incredibly complex mosaic," said Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire. "It's got tens of thousands of moving parts. Any legislation dealing with it will have to be complex."
Again, this is hardly new:
Still, lawmakers say, the 654-page Senate bill is a formidable challenge. "No one understands what the heck this bill says or will do," Mr. Gregg said as he emerged from a Republican caucus this week.Posted by Steven Taylor at June 22, 2024 07:39 AM | TrackBackRepresentative Cal Dooley, Democrat of California, said, "People will have to have an accountant to figure out what the premiums are and what the benefits are." Representative Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, said he was "still trying to understand the Rube Goldberg way the bill was put together."
This complexity, they say, may be daunting and confusing to beneficiaries, and even to insurance companies, which are supposed to manage the new benefits.