“It is paradoxical, really, that with all this talk of rationing, the proposal we hear about how to fix American healthcare is to take it away from people,” Dr. Berwick said in an interview with Politico. “That’s from the very people who are crying rationing.”
He continued: “If you look at the proposed withdrawals of support to Medicare beneficiaries and Medicaid, it’s withholding care from the people who need the care. You tell me what that is.”
Republicans have attacked Dr. Berwick for his previous support of the British National Health System, which rations healthcare by putting patients on waiting lists for procedures. The new GOP plan, passed by the House passed but unlikely to pass the Senate in an upcoming vote, would transform Medicare into a voucher system and Medicaid into a grant program for states.
Read the Politico report on Medicare and Medicaid.
Related Articles on Don Berwick:
Donald Berwick Blasts Medicare Vouchers, Defends Reform Law
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Senate Democrats Giving up on Berwick Confirmation as CMS Head
