[gdpawel]

The situation about Medicare paying below cost is much more complicated than some people would like to suggest. The losses many hospitals report may be real but there are variations depending on management choices, location and the ways in which costs are incurred. Some hospitals are indeed losing large amounts on Medicare services, while others actually are making a profit. Most individual Medicare patients are profitable, many others could make a profit if hospitals improved their operations.

Something else to think about. The obligation to fund Medicare is an obligation of the general fund. The government has spent virtually every penny of the Medicare trust fund on tax cuts for high bracket payers, but they still owe this money to the program. The people who saved billions in taxes at the expense of the trust fund should know that the taxman will be coming back. The government is going to have to put that actual cash they borrowed, back.