QUALITY CONTROL?

"Hospitals will be hit hard if this program becomes law," reports health care writer Janice Castro. "They rely on Medicare reimbursements, both for patient care and for a very significant part of their teaching programs. Teaching programs will be shut down if this program passes, which means fewer new doctors." Castro notes that because Medicare funds a substantial part of the research done in hospitals, this plan could slow progress in discovering new kinds of treatments, therapies and cures: "It appears that we are deciding as a nation to cut medical quality in order to save money."