(HNN) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced sweeping new regulations to comply with the never before read Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 (PPACA). Embedded as a foot note on page 3223 of the PPACA, CMS has completed their 42 billion dollar infrastructure necessary to track Hospital Scores for all CMS beneficiaries. What is the Hospital Score? The Hospital Score is a new scoring system that was embedded into the PPACA at the midnight hour by Obamacrats after most Republicans had gone home to spend quality time with their family.
When interviewed about the purpose of the new Hospital Score, most Obamacrats said their intention was to forever remove any aspect of patient responsibility in health care. Credit scores help define the level of risk creditors are exposed to when loaning money to the public. The lower the credit score, the higher the risk. Creditors demand higher interest rates to shoulder the higher risk of default. However, unlike credit scores, the Hospital Score will be used by CMS to reduce deductibles and copays for patients who take on less responsibility in their own health. Using a complicated and statistically validated method for defining personal responsibility, Obamacrats have lowered the bar in their quest for free medical care for all beneficiaries.
CMS has compiled a list of 300 lifestyle choices that increase the risk of hospitalization. Each lifestyle choice will carry a defined score which will be weighted based on the evidence for likelihood of hospital admission. The higher the score, the more likely the beneficiary is to be admitted. For most risk scoring systems, the public is punished for the poor choices they make. Not so for the CMS Hospital Score. Beneficiaries who engage in lifestyle choices more likely to lead to hospital admission (including smoking, lack of exercise, making poor diet choices and watching Oprah) will be rewarded with reductions in their copays and deductibles.
CMS projections expect 85% of beneficiaries to pay no deductibles or copays. They also expect another 10% to get waivers for all premiums. In addition, CMS believes the last 5% will actually get paid net positive income for their poor lifestyle choices. Surveys indicate most of these savings will be used to buy cigarettes and play slots on weekly bus trips to the casino. In addition, CMS beneficiaries with low scores will experience higher copays and deductibles, higher premiums and higher social security taxes to help offset the expected cost of implementing the Hospital Score. Most beneficiaries were thrilled to learn of the new Hospital Score, whose announced release was originally expected right before the November presidential election. This new policy will also apply to non citizen immigrants, but only those that can vote.
