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Seniors are very concerned that Medicare will be cut as Congress expands the ranks of the insured. Obama calls of the savings, to reward quality care rather than quantity of services, more efficiency and less waste.
Seniors will be the big losers if this plan is accepted as submitted. Since Medicare was formed 54 years ago, older Americans have been able to avoid disability, live by themselves, and travel. The new health plan will reduce this access to care for seniors, and pressure them to end their lives prematurely, and doomed them to painful years in nursing homes.
It seems that typically Congress sets up a budget formulae and if the formula turns out to give people money it passes. If people are denied money, Congress changes the formula.
CUT TO DOCTORS FEES
Congress passed a sustainable growth rate, SGR, for Medicare to cut federal deficits. Many physicians quit accepting Medicare patients this made Congress coming up with funds to fix the cuts every year since 2003. Now the Democratic Senate wants to end the SGR, to again cut doctor payments.
WHERE IS THE MONEY?
Why on earth is Medicare running out of money? The ratio of seniors compared to fewer workers paying Social Security into the system, has resulted in a deficit in the Medicare budget. Because of this, it has been suggested to push the Medicare eligibility rates to age 70.
Should you pay higher insurance premiums than their children? If you are between the ages of 50 and 65 and buy your own insurance, you typically pay a much higher premium than your children would pay. Once you turn 65, however, Medicare takes over your insurance coverage, and your premium difference is no longer an issue.
If you buy your own insurance you will pay 6-7 times more than the younger generation. If however, your employer buys your insurance, you don’t face a premium. Obama wants to reduce this premium price difference.
HOW INSURANCE COMPANIES THINK!
Seniors need more health care. If there is no premium price difference, to make up for the loss of insurance company revenue, younger people will have to pay higher premiums. If the cost between older and younger workers is no more than two to one, premium prices will go up for younger people by as much as 60%.
If you are in a lower or middle income person, you would need some tax credits or subsidies to keep your premium costs around 12 1/2% of your income. If all policies provided dependent coverage to the age of 26, as proposed, you and your children luck out.
CUTS THAT WILL BE MADE FROM SENIOR CARE
Seniors had no idea they would have to foot the bill for this massive experiment in government health care through cuts to their Medicare. The Medicare advantage will be cut $130 billion, $120 billion will be cut from hospital care for seniors, another $40 billion will be cut from home health agencies, $15 billion cut from nursing homes, and $8 billion cut from hospice care.
Sen. Harkin of Iowa said that if seniors want to have these little added features, it should not be done through Medicare. “They can buy supplemental insurance.”
RIFT OVER MAILINGS BY INSURERS
Insurance company mailings to seniors recently, from Humana, warned seniors of the disastrous Medicare cuts to their health care if present proposed health legislation is approved.
The president. Irate, issued an order to Medicare, to stop all the plans from communicating with their beneficiaries.
Since 25% of all Medicare beneficiaries are signed up in private plans, lawmakers became apprehensive of a potential backlash, and last month, Obama backed away from his Medicare ban on mailings. He rephrased the order, saying insurance companies may lobby seniors, provided they get permission from their beneficiaries first, and that no federal funds or data are used. Medicare official said the directive was only clarifying a long stand policy protecting seniors from nuisance mailings and abusive marketing.
COMMENTARY
Considerable funding has been made for comparative effectiveness research. This is the codename for limiting care based on the patient's age. This formula is used currently in Britain to deny treatment for older patients who have few years to benefit from the care. Treatment for the elderly will be denied on the basis of age. This will result in denying seniors lifesaving care, keeping them disabled, but saving tons of Medicare money.
Because specialty care costs a lot of money, this care will be shifted to the primary care doctor, and there will be less access to medical care. Reducing access to medical treatment ,as hip replacements, knee replacements, and bypass surgery, will make our senior’s lives shorter. Counseling on end of life options should also produce huge cost savings to Medicare.
Do you think these are reasonable solutions to the health care problems of our seniors?
Visit www.drneedles.com for more discussion of controversial medical problems. We strive to have our viewers “read between the lines”.
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