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Politics

Dan Webster Thinks His Physician Pro Bono Care Act Can Save Medicaid, CHIP Billions

January 31, 2019 - 11:30am
Dan Webster
Dan Webster

Now in the minority for the first time during his tenure in Congress, U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, R-Fla., has paired up with U.S. Rep. Colin Peterson, D-Minn., to encourage healthcare providers to offer free services for low-income Americans on Medicaid or the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Webster introduced the “Physician Pro Bono Care Act” on Tuesday and he weighed in on it on Wednesday. His office noted the bill “will provide a tax deduction to healthcare providers for pro-bono health services to low-income individuals and families who rely on Medicaid or CHIP.”

“This bill is a creative, commonsense solution that ensures our most vulnerable Americans have access to the care they need, from the doctor they choose, at a price they can afford,” Webster said. “This bill removes government bureaucracy and red-tape that obstructs the patient-doctor relationship, and it expands access to doctors for some of the more vulnerable in our society.” 

Webster insisted the bill will increase access while cutting Medicaid costs and claimed it “will save the federal and state government billions of dollars through the use of pro-bono services.”

Peterson echoed that claim on Wednesday. 

“In addition to expanding care options for those most in need, the Physician Pro Bono Care Act also has the potential to save billions of dollars in federal healthcare expenditures,” said Peterson. “I look forward to working with Congressman Webster to implement this important reform.”

“This can be a bipartisan win-win to improve access and choice to healthcare for those of limited means and I urge the Congress to take up this legislation and pass it,” said Dan Weber, the president and founder of Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC).  “From the positive feedback we’ve received from physicians, we believe medical care could be offered to as many as 7 million needy people.” 

The bill was sent to the U.S. House Ways and Means and the Energy and Commerce Committees. So far, Webster has picked up five other cosponsors including Peterson and U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-NC, and Republican U.S. Reps. Rick Allen and Jody Hice of Georgia. There is no counterpart over in the Senate so far. 

Comments

SO many doctors are overworked now. It's called Medical Ethics. Many medical problems genuinely need "Current test procedures" before treatment. How ya gonnna manage that - the equipment is EXPENSIVE, and the lab people might not want to give all their free time. The absurdity of this while very Christian, but cannot be made into LAW. Free MEDICARE for ALL will surely break America. GET REAL!

Thanks to Barak Hussein Obama, (or Barry Soweto), whichever AKA you prefer..! America CANNOT AFFORD "Medicare for ALL"!!!!!

Medicare for ALL! That's all you have to do.

Thank you Rep Webster. As a wife, mother, sister, daughter and niece in a family of physicians and a peer of former State Senator Daniel Webster I can attest that Rep Webster is a man of integrity and knows what he suggests. In Lake County, Florida where I spent nearly forty years and the same district that Rep Webster now represents, pro bono work by physicians has been done for over 30 years while my husband was in practice. In fact, a whole program called, “WeCare” was started by the Lake County Medical Society and to my knowledge is still in existence for indigent care with Leesburg Regional Medical Center. Go Dan! Don’t let the naysayers and those who want a single payer system destroy the fine medical care in Florida and the US. It will only force the more well to do to go to “boutique doctors and health care centers” as is starting to pop up in the US and now in Canada. We don’t need a tier system of medical care for the rich and another for the poor.

You tell 'em, they are not touching your cash cow...

This is another sham, a mere cash shift. Instead of allocating tax payer dollars for this stuff, they allow mega-rich physicians to deduct pro-bono care from their own taxes, so they pay less than they already pay into the budget. I'm sure they are allowed to keep their own records on how much they provide, hint, hint, nudge, nudge...too funny. the wing nuts will love it...

Could help! But, in the end, a national, single-payer healthcare plan is inevitable.

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