Dr. Oz to lead Centers for Medicare and Medicaid: Implications for Pain?

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I think these people are all like Trump in that they have a media/business persona that makes them $$$ and then they have a totally different side that is probably intelligent and savvy.

I would be happy to see Bozo the Clown in some of these ridiculous bureaucracies.
 
This is how we feel about Oz. He’s a schmuck and a quack.

That’s the same way every lawyer feels with Matt gaetz.

The same way everyone who works on the environment or green energy with that oil guy who in charge of the dept of energy.

Go on down the list. EPA, HHS, DNI, etc.

This is what you get when don’t care about content expertise and only care about political loyalty
 
hyperalgesia said:
I think these people are all like Trump in that they have a media/business persona that makes them $$$ and then they have a totally different side that is probably intelligent and savvy.

I would be happy to see Bozo the Clown in some of these ridiculous bureaucracies.
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Spoken like a true nihilist.

Burn it all down!!!!

That’s stupid.

You fix the problem, you don’t make it worse. Maybe some of the fix is to cut some of the bloat. But if you don’t have the expertise to understand the department, you are doomed to fail
 
SSdoc33 said:
Spoken like a true nihilist.

Burn it all down!!!!

That’s stupid.

You fix the problem, you don’t make it worse. Maybe some of the fix is to cut some of the bloat. But if you don’t have the expertise to understand the department, you are doomed to fail
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This is the myth that perpetuates the bureaucracy. Someone who is competent and generally successful in a bureaucracy will invariably follow the rules of the bureaucracy. By definition, NOT a disruptor.

Picking the next level down in the bureaucracy, like Kathleen Hicks is not how you get institutional change.

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hyperalgesia said:
This is the myth that perpetuates the bureaucracy. Someone who is competent and generally successful in a bureaucracy will invariably follow the rules of the bureaucracy. By definition, NOT a disruptor.

Picking the next level down in the bureaucracy, like Kathleen Hicks is not how you get institutional change.

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You want a disruptor making CMS not cover ESIs?

You once again miss the point by changing the goalposts and using straw man arguments.
 
SSdoc33 said:
You want a disruptor making CMS not cover ESIs?

You once again miss the point by changing the goalposts and using straw man arguments.
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Alright, if Oz causes CMS to stop covering ESIs I'll send you a crisp Benjamin.

And likewise, if 4 years from now, CMS still covers ESIs, you can send me one. Fair? Didn't think so, because YOU my friend are the King of Strawman arguments and changing goalposts.
 
Having a hard time finding exact figures but using ChatGPT as a search engine estimates Medicare spending on interventional pain services in the billions. As a specialty with a relatively weak lobby that hasn’t been able to prevent cuts and restrictions every year, with an admin that is actively hostile toward our specialty and looking to cut spending by 50%, that’s concerning. Pretty much our entire specialty could be eliminated with 4-5 new Medicare LCDs, in favor or Reiki, acupuncture, and chiropractic.
 
Do you think there will be DME coverage for energy crystals? Basically should I be stocking up now?
 
callmeanesthesia said:
Having a hard time finding exact figures but using ChatGPT as a search engine estimates Medicare spending on interventional pain services in the billions. As a specialty with a relatively weak lobby that hasn’t been able to prevent cuts and restrictions every year, with an admin that is actively hostile toward our specialty and looking to cut spending by 50%, that’s concerning. Pretty much our entire specialty could be eliminated with 4-5 new Medicare LCDs, in favor or Reiki, acupuncture, and chiropractic.
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The fact that we're taking about decreased reimbursement for interventional pain, does that mean we're no longer panicking about "losing our democracy"?
 
hyperalgesia said:
The fact that we're taking about decreased reimbursement for interventional pain, does that mean we're no longer panicking about "losing our democracy"?
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We always talk about decreased reimbursements for pain. It’s our baseline state. I guess complaining about the death of democracy kind of is too though.

Carry on…
 
The only thing savvy about Oz is his ability to be a huckster. These picks are an embarrassment.

Trump is building his cabinet like he’s filling in the cast of a reality tv show. We’ll see how entertaining it is…
 
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SSdoc33 said:
This is how we feel about Oz. He’s a schmuck and a quack.

That’s the same way every lawyer feels with Matt gaetz.

The same way everyone who works on the environment or green energy with that oil guy who in charge of the dept of energy.

Go on down the list. EPA, HHS, DNI, etc.

This is what you get when don’t care about content expertise and only care about political loyalty
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Xavier Becerra is harder to defend than Oz.
 
callmeanesthesia said:
We always talk about decreased reimbursements for pain. It’s our baseline state. I guess complaining about the death of democracy kind of is too though.

Carry on…
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Man these “Wicked” tie-in promotions are getting to be a bit much
 
SSdoc33 said:
This is how we feel about Oz. He’s a schmuck and a quack.

That’s the same way every lawyer feels with Matt gaetz.

The same way everyone who works on the environment or green energy with that oil guy who in charge of the dept of energy.

Go on down the list. EPA, HHS, DNI, etc.

This is what you get when don’t care about content expertise and only care about political loyalty
Click to expand...
All those virtuous lawyers feel superior to Gaetz......??
 
Baron Samedi said:
We also get Linda McMahon!

Shocked Vince Mcmahon GIF by WWE
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Probably worth considering how we got to this place.

Where do you think Democrats went wrong?

Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD

Admiral Rachel L. Levine serves as the 17th Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
www.hhs.gov www.hhs.gov
 
hyperalgesia said:
Probably worth considering how we got to this place.

Where do you think Democrats went wrong?

Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD

Admiral Rachel L. Levine serves as the 17th Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
www.hhs.gov www.hhs.gov
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Mmmmm reminds me of how doctodd got his first warning for going after Rachel Levine back in the day
 
hyperalgesia said:
Alright, if Oz causes CMS to stop covering ESIs I'll send you a crisp Benjamin.

And likewise, if 4 years from now, CMS still covers ESIs, you can send me one. Fair? Didn't think so, because YOU my friend are the King of Strawman arguments and changing goalposts.
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great, $100 bucks should make up for the lost revenue for the rest of my working life. thanks

it strikes me as a bit hypocritical as you work for the VA....
 
PMROralBoards said:
Elections have consequences, right?
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Status Sciaticus said:
why would our dear leader nominate 'a complete embarrassment to medicine'?
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I don’t love some of trumps cabinet picks.

However I can accept those picks compared to another 10 million illegal immigrants over the next 4 years, no cuts in government waste (via DOGE), worse inflation, suppression of first amendment rights, boys with psychiatric issues in girls bathrooms and in girls sports, and unconstitutional suppression of parents rights.
 
hyperalgesia said:
Probably worth considering how we got to this place.

Where do you think Democrats went wrong?

Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD

Admiral Rachel L. Levine serves as the 17th Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
www.hhs.gov www.hhs.gov
Click to expand...

They allowed the election to be dominated by identity politics and failed to present (and emphasize) a platform that would resonate with voters.

The GOP has been brilliant in their strategy. They find a few highly divisive topics and focus in on them, which wins them elections. They then pass whatever legislation and nominate whatever judges they want silently in the background.

The Democrats keep playing the same tired strategy. They come out swinging with Progressive talking points during the primaries and then, once they secure the nomination, shift towards a more Neoliberal stance in a feeble attempt to appeal to Moderates. Then they have the uphill battle of trying to explain away their previous stances and come across as insincere and untrustworthy to the undecided voters and betray the people who initially supported them. Every now and then the charisma of the candidate (Clinton, Obama) or nationwide discontent of the current state of things (also Obama, and Biden) are enough to push a candidate through, and the Democratic party is near-sighted and oblivious enough to think the left-then-middle strategy worked and should be continued.
 
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bedrock said:
I don’t love some of trumps cabinet picks.

However I can accept those picks compared to another 10 million illegal immigrants over the next 4 years, no cuts in government waste (via DOGE), worse inflation, suppression of first amendment rights, boys with psychiatric issues in girls bathrooms and in girls sports, and unconstitutional suppression of parents rights.
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why cant we have both?

why do we have to choose between the issues you present above but still have to hold our noses with DJT cabinet and all the other crap?

our system of gvt is fatally flawed as it does not realistically allow for a third party
 
*me checking how long ago it was that GoSpurs gave pain forum a scolding*
 
Agast said:
I think this will be great for Reiki coverage under Medicare

divineyu.com

Dr. Oz - Reiki as His Number One Doctor's Order – DivineYu

divineyu.com divineyu.com
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MCare Advantage for all and nothing else.... barf

Oz has pushed Medicare Advantage plans on his TV show, the Dr. Oz Show, including in a segment sponsored by MedicareAdvantage.com, an insurance agency. Viewers were encouraged to call a hotline so they could sign up for Medicare Advantage plans right away.
Oz’s plan could boost companies in which he invests: Financial disclosures show Oz and his wife own up to $550,000 worth of stock in UnitedHealth Group and up to $50,000 in CVS Health, which owns Aetna. Both UnitedHealth and Aetna have reported big revenues from Medicare Advantage plans, the privatized Medicare plans operated by corporate health insurers. In all, Oz and his wife have at least $8.5 million in personal investments in the health care sector.

www.levernews.com

Dr. Oz Pushes Medicare Privatization For All

The New Jersey TV doctor wants to privatize Medicare — and tax workers to boost the profits of insurance giants whose stock he owns.
www.levernews.com www.levernews.com
 
I trained with Mehmet Oz. Worked with him for a number of years before his TV stardom. Impressive credentials but he is a “different” guy and always very much seeks notoriety. Obviously a very poor choice for the job but he is in similar, if not worse, company.
 
SSdoc33 said:
why cant we have both?

why do we have to choose between the issues you present above but still have to hold our noses with DJT cabinet and all the other crap?

our system of gvt is fatally flawed as it does not realistically allow for a third party
Click to expand...

I agree. I really wish third party was viable in the US. More Americans are independents than any specific political affiliation.

Neither party truly represents the wishes of the majority or voters.
 
Gauss said:
MCare Advantage for all and nothing else.... barf

Oz has pushed Medicare Advantage plans on his TV show, the Dr. Oz Show, including in a segment sponsored by MedicareAdvantage.com, an insurance agency. Viewers were encouraged to call a hotline so they could sign up for Medicare Advantage plans right away.
Oz’s plan could boost companies in which he invests: Financial disclosures show Oz and his wife own up to $550,000 worth of stock in UnitedHealth Group and up to $50,000 in CVS Health, which owns Aetna. Both UnitedHealth and Aetna have reported big revenues from Medicare Advantage plans, the privatized Medicare plans operated by corporate health insurers. In all, Oz and his wife have at least $8.5 million in personal investments in the health care sector.

www.levernews.com

Dr. Oz Pushes Medicare Privatization For All

The New Jersey TV doctor wants to privatize Medicare — and tax workers to boost the profits of insurance giants whose stock he owns.
www.levernews.com www.levernews.com
Click to expand...

That is really shady.

Each time something is denied under a Medicare advantage plan, I make a point to tell the patient that they wouldn’t have that issue with regular Medicare.
 
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bedrock said:
That is really shady.

Everything something is denied under a Medicare advantage plan, I make a point to tell the patient that they wouldn’t have that issue with regular Medicare.
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I tell them that the “Advantage” is for the insurance company, not the patient or doctor.
 
Trump really does not give one s*** this time around about competency. He is rewarding those loyal to him and that will kiss his feet no matter what - conspiracy theorists and sex with minors be damned. Cronyism at it's finest!

Looking forward to more Medicare Advantage and revival of the vaccine conspiracy theorists.
 
drusso said:
It touches every aspect of our specialty...opioids, SOS, patient access, quality, monopolistic payers, ASCs corporate practice of medicine, and Obamacare. It's everywhere, and it's everything.
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only if you let it.


you can just treat the patient.
 
bedrock said:
That is really shady.

Each time something is denied under a Medicare advantage plan, I make a point to tell the patient that they wouldn’t have that issue with regular Medicare.
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This is why I don't accept Medicare Advantage plans. Plenty of traditional medicare patients out there (which is how it should be) but unfortunately that seems to be going away...If we only got enough practitioners, facilities and patients to reject MA plans the insurance carriers would drop these plans faster than a Matt Gaetz nomination.
 
drusso said:
“Health care is inherently political because access to it defines who we are as a society.” – Dr. Atul Gawande
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so who do you want to known as: the society that provides access, or the society that denies it?

hint: the other 34 industrialized nations have already figured this out

prepare for a spin cycle and indirect answer to the question, possibly invoking ayn rand or SOS (d)
 
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