Health Care Reform. Seniors thrown under the Medicare bus
Wow! I have been watching the house committee debate on the newest health care plan this past week. Again the liberals are bound and determined to have an all or nothing go at health care. The cuts to our seniors under the guise of reform will kill the advantage plan. The current spin is that it cost 20% more and only about 10,000,000 out of 47,000,000 use this plan. The truth is that Medicare is in trouble and needs to have cuts, but it is an entrenched entitlement. In my mind this only reinforces that fact that the Government cannot effectively run a large public program. I also include their failure to responsibly run social security.
How about we fix SS, Medicare and Medicaid before we tackle an entire redesign of the health care system of this country. It always strikes me as misleading when a politician says I am here to make your life better and then doesn’t sign up for the new plan they designed for you. The only folks who will still have Cadillac health care plans are those same politicians. I give you an example of what they did to the federal employees retirement plan of which they shared the same benefits. They gave the Federal employees the new and improved Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). This system amounts to Social Security, thrift savings account (like a 401K) and a very small government payout. The old Civil Service Reform Act pension based the payout on years worked, high three salary average and your age, much better for the employee. Did they mandate that any new congressman fall under this system? Hell No, they still get 60% of their salary and a happy face. I contend the same thing will occur with a health care change. In short they lie.
Folks I contend that your costs will go up and your taxes will rise. They only people who will not have this happen to them are the folks who pay little or no taxes and currently don’t have healthcare.
Max Baucus has clearly demonstrated his contempt for the people of this country, he and the white house have issued a gag order effectively stopping insurance company’s from informing their customers of the effects of this bill.
I know I am repeating myself when I say that they they are trying to silence any opposition so they can achieve their ends, which is a large government controlled health care system. We are losing our rights an inch at a time, Please raise your voices in opposition of all these large government programs that are heading us to bankruptcy
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The Common Man: I am just that, someone who spent 30 plus years working for the government as a mid-level manager and program manager. This forum allows me to have a voice and share my concerns. I have been a voting member of the silent majority my entire adult life, now however it seems voting is not enough and being silent is a bad idea. This forum is an attempt to move the conversation from the kitchen table, friends and families to people who would also like to voice opinions and Participate in a civil debate.
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Rod
Did you look at any actual data about the costs to taxpayers to fund private insurance Medicare Advantage plans versus traditional Medicare? It’s not “spin,” it’s cold, hard, financial facts:
“Growing enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans has increased program
expenditures because each MA plan enrollee costs significantly more on average than if the
beneficiary was in the traditional Medicare program, a differential of 14 percent in 2009.
These higher payments contribute to the fiscal pressure on the Medicare program, including the
HI Trust Fund.” ~ A Primer on Medicare Financing http://www.kff.org/medicare/7731.cfm
And I think you’re mistaken about members of Congress not falling under FERS:
“Members elected since 1984 are covered by the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS). Those elected prior to 1984 were covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). In 1984 all members were given the option of remaining with CSRS or switching to FERS . . .According to the Congressional Research Service, 413 retired Members of Congress were receiving federal pensions based fully or in part on their congressional service as of Oct. 1, 2006. Of this number, 290 had retired under CSRS and were receiving an average annual pension of $60,972. A total of 123 Members had retired with service under both CSRS and FERS or with service under FERS only. Their average annual pension was $35,952 in 2006.”
So your statement that Congress did not mandate that any new congressman fall under this new system is just plain wrong. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to vent about Congress. This just doesn’t happen to be one of them!
Bridig, we are in complete agreement about Medicare, my contention is that it is a good example of how not to run a program. The numbers used were “spun” in a the actual committee debate as I watched the Senate on the tube. I think if we have a government program it should be the same for all participants. I think all the “frills” should be eliminated. Perhaps Medicare\Medicaid should be limited to covering a catastrophic injury\illness and general medical care. Perhaps our insurance coverage should do the same.
I stand corrected about the Congressional retirement system. I was looking at some bad data and was promoting an urban legend. I apologize to you and my readers.
Thanks for the great research and I look forward to continued debates