If it’s broke, fix it…

March 7, 2006

Medicare’s process for investigating complaints about bad care is”broken,” leaves patients in the dark, and is of “no benefit toimproving the overall quality” of medical care received by millions ofelderly and disabled beneficiaries, Senate investigators have found.

Theongoing probe by the Senate Finance Committee determined that thenumber of complaints investigated by Medicare appears”disproportionately low,” Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), thecommittee chairman, wrote in a five-page letter sent to Medicareofficials Friday. Grassley called on federal officials to considermajor reforms, including redesigning the program and re-biddingcontracts.