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I've been on tenterhooks, ending in dirty looks
List'ning to the Muzak, thinking 'bout this 'n' that
She said, "That's that, I don't wanna chitter chat"
Turn it down a little bit or turn it down flat
. .
.Pump it up when you don't really need it
Pump it up until you can feel it
.
.Down in the pleasure center, hell bent or heaven sent
listen to the propaganda, listen to the latest slander
There's nothing underhand that she wouldn't understand
.. .
.Pump it up until you can feel it
Pump it up when you don't really need it
List'ning to the Muzak, thinking 'bout this 'n' that
She said, "That's that, I don't wanna chitter chat"
Turn it down a little bit or turn it down flat
. .
.Pump it up when you don't really need it
Pump it up until you can feel it
.
.Down in the pleasure center, hell bent or heaven sent
listen to the propaganda, listen to the latest slander
There's nothing underhand that she wouldn't understand
.. .
.Pump it up until you can feel it
Pump it up when you don't really need it
..
Elvis Costello - Pump It Up
.
Taxpayers Paid Nearly $175M for Penis Pumps Between 2006 and 2011
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Hmm, should I go there?
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Sure, why not...
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Yes, I've thought long and hard about what to do with this one. As you can imagine, I have an aversion to using the word 'penis' in a post as it may attract the 'wrong sort' of readership online. Especially in a post where I'll necessarily need to use the word 'penis' to convey the news reported recently by the alert folks at the Washington Free Beacon online.
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In keeping with existing MoosRoom standards, I will replace the offending 'p' word with the word, 'winky' as to not offend, (or 'overly attract') anyone here. So whenever the word 'winky' appears in the post below, please understand that I am saying PENIS without actually, um, you know, saying the word, 'penis'.
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This will be the last time that I will type the word 'penis' in this post.
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From the article referenced above: Taxpayers paid nearly $175 million for vacuum erection systems (VES), commonly known as “penis pumps,” from 2006 to 2011, according to an inspector general report released on Monday.
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The federal government paid more than double the retail price for VES, the Department of Health and Human Services IG found. Medicare prices for the systems, the report said, “remain grossly excessive compared with the amounts that non-Medicare payers pay.”
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[Translation: If you purchased your own 'Winky Pump' it would have cost you approximately HALF of what Medicaid paid for it on your behalf. Keep reading, it's coming...
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.“The fact that taxpayers have spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars over the past decade on penis pumps via Medicare is obscene and insulting – even more so when you consider that this is an arena of Medicare expenditures rife with fraud and where the government doesn’t even bother to assess medical necessity,” said Ben Domenech, a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute.
“This is a perfect example of what happens when government becomes the be all and end all of human existence – a system where everyone has a right to a taxpayer-funded penis pump.”
Vacuum erection systems, which are used to treat impotence, are covered by Medicare Part B under its Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) competitive bidding program.
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.Medicare payments for VES have swelled [MoosNote: Did they HAVE to use the word 'swelled' - really?] in recent years. The Department of Health and Human Services paid $20.6 million for 61,589 claims in 2006. It paid $38.6 million for 103,448 claims in 2011.
. .
The federal government paid more than double the retail price for VES, the Department of Health and Human Services IG found. Medicare prices for the systems, the report said, “remain grossly excessive compared with the amounts that non-Medicare payers pay.”
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[Translation: If you purchased your own 'Winky Pump' it would have cost you approximately HALF of what Medicaid paid for it on your behalf. Keep reading, it's coming...
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.“The fact that taxpayers have spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars over the past decade on penis pumps via Medicare is obscene and insulting – even more so when you consider that this is an arena of Medicare expenditures rife with fraud and where the government doesn’t even bother to assess medical necessity,” said Ben Domenech, a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute.
“This is a perfect example of what happens when government becomes the be all and end all of human existence – a system where everyone has a right to a taxpayer-funded penis pump.”
Vacuum erection systems, which are used to treat impotence, are covered by Medicare Part B under its Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) competitive bidding program.
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.Medicare payments for VES have swelled [MoosNote: Did they HAVE to use the word 'swelled' - really?] in recent years. The Department of Health and Human Services paid $20.6 million for 61,589 claims in 2006. It paid $38.6 million for 103,448 claims in 2011.
.Congress instructed the Government Accountability Office to examine the issue. It mostly concurred in 2000 with CMS’s recommendations for a revised fee schedule. HHS issued regulations granting CMS the authority to adjust the pay schedule, but the agency never actually did so.
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[MoosNote: So Congress ordered the GAO to look into the over-billing for 'Winky Pumps' (and presumably other 'stuff' they were over-paying for) and the HHS told the CMS (Center for Medicaid & Medicare) that they could adjust their payment schedule, but the CMS... Never did? Who saw THIS coming??? This is the problem with Federally-sponsored Acronyms, they 'never, ever' take responsibility for themselves as no one has their name directly associated with them - for example do you ever hear of 'Sebelius's HHS'? I did find an Organization Chart for the CMS which has NO EMPLOYEE NAMES on it at all, it posts merely job titles... Good luck finding out who's spending your winky-enhancement dollars there.]
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Continuing from the article found at Washington Free Beacon Online:
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Most VES, the IG noted, are purchased through mail-order services online, over the phone, or by mail. The authors examined retail prices through Google and Yahoo! search results.
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“Medicare currently pays suppliers more than twice as much for VES as the Department of Veterans Affairs and consumers over the Internet pay for these types of devices,” the IG found.
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“Medicare currently pays suppliers more than twice as much for VES as the Department of Veterans Affairs and consumers over the Internet pay for these types of devices,” the IG found.
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[MoosNote: Ah, yes, the Federally-sanctioned Winky Enhancement costs more, but it probably also has Federally-mandated 'Safety Devices' built into them such as the 'Safety harness', 'Auto Eject Air Bag', 'Quick Winky Release Mechanism', and are powered by Green Energy (which requires you to power it with your own 'Methane'. Go ahead, imagine THIS for a moment... Ewwwww.)
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By exercising that authority and limiting Medicare payments for VES, the IG found, CMS could save taxpayers millions. For the six years examined in the report, a pay schedule on par with standard consumer prices would have saved Medicare, on average, $14.4 million per year.
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Sure, I realize that when talking about the Federal Government $14.4 MILLION per year is 'chump change' but this is the number that a SINGULAR DEPARTMENT over-spent for a SINGLE PRODUCT on average, per year for six YEARS. AND, that product, is used for a singular purpose. That purpose? Well, you know...
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If you actually don't know, here's a visual aid for you (just in case you're not an CMS employee who tosses these out as freely as Tootsie Rolls at your local Planet Fitness or condoms a Planned Parenthood Singles Weekend...)
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| Your tax dollars at work (and play) |
| So once again we have a story of wasteful spending by the people who are now charged with running ALL of your health care. Big whoop - is anyone surprised by this? . However, I believe there may be a story which has been overlooked by the folks at the Washington Free Beacon. An important story which can possibly impact about 51% of the U.S. Population! . I am a little concerned that in funding a VES for men that we are forgetting... The needs of women of America! . After all, ObamaCare now pays for their birth control, wellness visits, abortions, and toe nail fungus removal, so why shouldn't the Federal Government pay for their 'arousal deficits' just as the CMS does for men? Hmm??? And if you're going to 'help a guy out', why wouldn't you do the same for his spouse, girl friend, or booty call partner? . I am sooooooo tired of the Federal Government being so one-sided in their support of MEN's 'needs'! If they supply a winky enhancement device for a man, why not subsidize the female impotency equivalent? I'm not exactly sure what this particular machine would look like, but how come the President of the United States, while speaking about 'Inequality' (during the tenure of his own Administration) fails to mention the fact that women are 'pretty-much-on-their-own' when it comes to arousing... Themselves? . A guy, compared to a women, gets a Federally-subsidized VES, a couple of AA batteries, free Cinemax on cable, a few moments alone and he's able to take care of his personal (and 'impotent') business. . Viola! Boom. Done. . Why is it always about the man? Why? Why?!?!?! . Let me ask you this: Why do President Obama and Kathleen Sebelius NOT want women to be happy too? . I want to know! More importantly, I believe that America NEEDS to know! . I will be contacting Kirsten Gillibrand's office to find out WHY she supports an Administration which wants women to be subservient to men. . And, as an aside, I need to find out why Gillibrand is beginning to look SO MUCH like Hillary Clinton? . .  . Of all the 'scary things' in the post above, this I fear, will be the one causing me to lose the most sleep this evening... .. . |
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