Biden’s costly failure to stop Medicare privatization experiment in Ohio: Maximilian
A Medicare privatization experiment injecting “direct contracting entities” into the process, which could cost taxpayers billions, by some estimates, needs to end, write medical students Maximilian Brockwell and John Tyler Moore in a guest column today. (Lisa DeJong/The Plain Dealer)The Plain Dealer
ROOTSTOWN, Ohio — On Jan. 19, President Joe Biden spoke to a press conference touting the accomplishments of his first year in office, praising his administration’s COVID-19 response and approach toward health care policy. Conveniently, he failed to mention one glaring issue that will affect more than 2.4 million aging and vulnerable Ohioans — he has spent an entire year squandering the opportunity to protect them from a dangerous Donald Trump-era plan to privatize Medicare.
The pilot program, which began to roll out in 2021, introduces private companies known as “direct contracting entities” (DCEs) as middlemen between the Medicare program and health care providers. This experimental model currently spans 38 states, including Ohio. On paper, the rationale is to reduce cost by spreading financial responsibility between the government and third parties. However, under the false guise of risk-sharing, private groups can siphon massive amounts of cash away from seniors to line their own pockets.
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