In Cuts to Health Programs, Experts See Difficult Task in Protecting Patients

Letters to the Editor
New York Times
letters@nytimes.com

September 22, 2011

Dear Robert Pear,

Obama’s new plan to cut funding to Medicare and Medicaid received much
criticism. Opposition is much deserved. It will hurt beneficiaries, and
further cuts will only lead to many of them not being able to find a
doctor that will accept Medicare and Medicaid patients. Furthermore,
reductions to the funding of these programs will lead to less money being
put towards the hospitals, which spend much of their funding on salaries.
Reducing their funding will only lead to more layoffs, which is ironic if
you take into consideration Obama’s new jobs plan. If Obama wishes to
decrease health care spending, we need to be focusing on providing
incentives to providers for more efficiency and preventative care.
Improvements upon service delivery and educational reform will lead to a
healthier America and an overall decrease in health expenditures, thereby accomplishing his overarching goal. .

Sincerely,

Vanessa Ridley

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/21/us/politics/wielding-the-ax-on-medicaid-and-medicare-without-wounding-the-patient.html