More On the Storminess of Medicare's Risk Transfer

Hurricane Disease Management Care Blog has made quite a splash with its Health Affairs Blog article that examines Uncle Sam's bipartisan and simultaneously sneaky solution to CMS' bankruptcy.  Its contrarian posting argues that liberal-progressives want to soak the providers with a transfer of under-monetized insurance risk in the form of ACOs, while conservatives want beneficiaries to sop the risk up with under-funded vouchers. 

Other bloggers are surging around the concept.  The Think Progress Health Blog dives into the DMCB's conclusions, while the Incidental Economist pours some additional thoughts on the topic by asking weather better information can make a difference.  In the meantime, the Care and Cost Blog showers the DMCB with admiration by posting the article's content its entirety.  Even Politico makes a mention.  In the meantime, emails from colleagues continue to flood the DMCB with supportive comments. 

Will the DMCB be able to rain in this torrent of self-congratulation?  The DMCB spouse, unable to reverse this indulgent tide, can only respond: "Now I'vreen it all."

Yet, while the DMCB was distracted by weather puns, storms wider than the European continent, 8 hour power outages, chain sawing downed branches and battling wind gusts up to 50 MPH, it still had a chance to ponder the derision that met Michele Bachmann's claim that her Presidency will lead to $2 a gallon gas prices.  "What's the big deal?" asks the DMCB: she's obviously relied on the same economic logic that was responsible for the passage of Mr. Obama's Affordable Care Act.