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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTPM - "Bonus! GOP Obamacare Repeal Bill Depletes Medicare Trust Fund Faster"
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/gop-health-care-bill-repeal-medicare-tax-funding-crisisBy ALLEGRA KIRKLAND Published MARCH 10, 2017, 6:00 AM EDT
The long-awaited GOP health care bill finally unveiled this week strikes an immediate blow to Medicare funding, accelerating a solvency crisis that health policy experts say could open the door to even more devastating cuts down the road.
By repealing a payroll tax on high earners that provided a critical additional revenue stream for the Medicare trust fund, the GOP's proposed American Health Care Act would speed up the funds exhaustion by as many as three to four years, according to estimates from health care policy experts.
Its clear, simple and undeniable that this bill would aversely affect the solvency of Medicare, Paul Van De Water, a Medicare expert at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities told TPM.
Critics say this provision is a prime example of the GOP bill granting tax breaks to the wealthy at the expense of the countrys neediest citizens, and that it paves the way for Medicare privatization. One former Obama administration official argued that by endangering the programs funding, so-called entitlement hawks like House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) will have cover to argue that Medicare as we know it is financially unsustainablethen realize their long-held dream of turning it into a voucher program.
Andy Slavitt, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the last two years of the Obama administration, has been ringing this bell loudly since the AHCA was made public Monday night.
snip - more sad reading at the link
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TPM - "Bonus! GOP Obamacare Repeal Bill Depletes Medicare Trust Fund Faster" (Original Post)
NRaleighLiberal
Mar 2017
OP
DK504
(3,847 posts)1. But, but Family values and christianity and God warriors!
exboyfil
(17,862 posts)2. The way I frame it is that the $35B/yr. in cuts
to the increase in real income and investment tax means 400,000 nurses/yr. (or any mix of healthcare workers you selected). There is no obvious alternative to this revenue.
Also why would anyone advise a high school student to go into the healthcare field. There is insufficient funds to pay them. The Republicans are arguing that going to the doctor is like some sort of joyride at the taxpayer's expense.