Cuts to Medicare Reimbursements Inevitable, But How Deep?

President Barack Obama’s budget proposal drops tomorrow morning, and while it is common knowledge there will be Medicare cuts, no one is talking about how big those cuts will be.

The president is keeping mum, and the only scrap of intelligence released about the proposed budget came from a senior adviser who said that neither Republicans nor Democrats will be happy with it.

According to USA Today, White House officials said Friday that Medicare cuts would consist primarily of reduced payments to healthcare providers.

Some news outlets continue to throw around a figure of $400 billion when discussing cuts, but that was the number the president threw out during last fall’s budget negotiations.

The pharmaceutical industry may now have a big target on its collective back, thanks to a well timed editorial in today’s Huffington Post by Ethan Rome, executive director of the influential political advocacy organization, Health Care for America Now. “Big Pharma Pockets $711 Billion in Profits by Robbing Seniors, Taxpayers,” reads the headline, and Rome slams the pharmaceutical industry for reaping significant profits from Medicare.