Obama or Medicare?

The new Medicare legislation which was passed late last week is causing a bit of stir among economic pundits and politicians. Some conservative leaders and supporters are saying these new laws are just the beginning of Obama's reformation of the healthcare system. But is that such a bad thing? In the field of virtual colonoscopies yes it may be, because physicians and researchers have found that virtual colonoscopies are the way of the future and aid in early detection of colorectal cancer. So why is Medicare opting out of paying for them? Matthew Harper of Forbes says about this new law, "We've reported before how General Electric's health care arm is struggling as doctors and hospitals cut back on purchases of expensive imaging machines. As reimbursement rates for MRIs, CT scans and other imaging studies have slid, sales have slowed. To offset these cuts, GE needs to find new applications for its devices. One is the virtual colonoscopy, in which images from a CT Scan replace an actual probe taking pictures inside the body." As time goes on and President Obama puts in place his new healthcare funding ideas, we'll see if this was a good decision or not.