I work in a hospital billing office. Yup, billing Medicare. What people think they know about Medicare (or should I say what they don’t know about Medicare) is astounding. I suppose the “low” overhead claim is a claim to efficiency. If they are so efficient why do they constantly reduce reimbursement and benefits but increase Medicare deductibles? This year’s Medicare deductible is $1,100.00 and that isn’t a one time deal for the year like private insurance. Medicare patients pay it for each in-patient stay that is 60 days apart. If they go back into the hospital again within 60 days of the last stay, they do not pay it again. Unless they have a supplement plan it puts quite a dent in their social security checks which for many is their sole source of income. And so the government thinks it knows what an AFFORDABLE public option is? Medicare billing is complicated and time consuming. Their manuals are as clear as mud. If time is money and a larger amount of folks go into a public option that is based on Medicare, hospital and physician costs will go up to meet the additional administrative burden. And no, the reimbursement from an increase in the number of beneficiary claims won’t make up for it. Currently Medicare often pays only a fraction of cost. They rarely pay enough for a hospital to make any profit from their reimbursement. Any profit hospitals make is from private health insurance reimbursement which pays 70% or more of what is charged, not just cost. Some people think hospitals don’t need to make a profit. Are they kidding? What do they think pays for all that high tech, latest in technology equipment and treatment that diagnoses and cures their ills?