Republicans seek to reassure elderly on Medicare

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Republicans seek to reassure elderly on Medicare
By Donna Smith Donna Smith – Thu Apr 21, 3:01 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans pushing deep cuts to government spending are seeking to reassure older Americans that their health insurance will remain intact even if Medicare is privatized.

Elderly voters could be pivotal in the 2012 election, where both Democrats and Republicans will be judged for proposed cuts to the federal health insurance program to reduce deficits.

President Barack Obama has proposed trims to the old-age benefits while denouncing as "radical" a Republican plan that would replace Medicare with vouchers giving recipients a fixed amount of money to buy private insurance.

Pushing back, Republican lawmakers have been holding town halls across the country with a clear message: Medicare is unsustainable in its current form and only their plan will guarantee future seniors access to healthcare.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_usa_budget_medicare

[hlthe2b]

1. So they think the elderly are not worried about their adult kids?

Do they really think that most elderly would be ok, knowing their 53 year old adult child was going to be screwed? Or that their grandchildren would have even more security pulled from them? Really? CLUELESS.

[DCKit]

2. "I got mine" is a prevalent attitude among many (R) voters. Elderly and otherwise.

However, this is going to be a tough sell, and may be the defining issue of the 2012 election.

Personally, I think Grandma and Grandpa are going to F* their Republic shit up.

[ejpoeta]

10. 'i've got mine' generally only works when the other guy getting screwed

is someone you generally don't know and can't or not willing to imagine what it would mean to them. medicare and social security affecting your own personal family and friends is something you can see and easily make the correlation. that makes it harder to bs. i hope their whitewashing doesn't work.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. I read on DU about the elderly who don't care about their own

kids and grandkids, but in actual life I have never met any person who simply does not care about the future of their own offspring, in fact, the opposite, most elder voters I know put their younger family ahead of themselves. It is a meme I do not buy at all. At all. Not at all.

[DCKit]

21. Yeah, but now they're not just shouting slogans and distupting meetings.

It's starting to get REAL.

[Journeyman]

3. And by what right do they seek to pit me against my children and grandchildren?. . .

They're all daft, that's for certain.

[kirby]

16. Divide and Conquer works for them all the time n/t

[Nossida]

4. ok, reassure the Sick and Elderly

It won't do you any good.
You repubs change what you
say as often as most change
their socks.

We understand that you have completely
sold out the American People to your
Corporate Paymasters. Only religious
fruitcakes and the uneducated listen
to you anymore.

[MsPithy]

5. It makes perfect sense to Republicans that seniors

will be fine with the cuts to Medicare as long as it doesn't affect them personally. Ayn Rand told them so.

[BlueMTexpat]

6. There are a lot of bridges for sale and too many who will buy them.

Today's GOP is nothing but a bunch of snake oil salespersons.

[Fuddnik]

7. If the bank don't get your house, the hospital will.

[woodsprite]

8. Isn't that like the joke about blind man giving his dog a treat

So he knows where to kick him in the ass?

[Vinca]

9. Republicans assume all the elderly are like them -

heartless fools who don't care if their children or grandchildren have a decent Medicare plan when they're old. A woman pointed that out at a town hall meeting with NH Rep. Charlie Bass, a serious Republican idiot.

[PatSeg]

19. Or they often think the elderly

are gullible idiots who will buy anything they are selling, as long as they look "nice" and use the right words.

[mwb970]

11. Col. Sanders seeks to reassure chickens about dinner. /nt

[Demeter]

13. Third Rail!

Still charged up, ready to avenge stupidity and cupidity.

[Turbineguy]

14. Meanwhile they have to invent

"I don't have mine, fuck you anyway!"

[justgamma]

15. They are the same Congressmen that

voted to repeal The Affordable Healthcare Act that would force the insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions that would allow the people the freedom to buy insurance. Maybe they could explain to the people exactly what companies will insure the aging, the elderly and the sick.

[L0oniX]

17. Msg to repukes AND Dems ...fuck with SS or Medicare and you're out!

[No Elephants]

18. Meanwhile, Durbin is saying everything is on the table, including cuts

to Social Security. Further, Obama's budget in January called for cuts fuel subsidies before he Republicans said a word. And, he is offering cuts to Medicare.

When Republicans proposed to then President Bill Clinton slightly lower cuts to Medicare than the cuts to Medicare to Medicare that Obama is now proposing to Republicans, Democrats called them "draconian." Now, they're lower than Obama's OPENING salvo. (Yes, I know about inflation--and deflation--since Clinton.)

Point is, our traditional paradigm just doesn't work today. It's not necessarily Republican v. Democrat, full stop, anymore. It is 1% versus 99%--and the 99% has been losing--under BOTH Parties. Sure, we still have a somewhat "lesser of two evils" on some issues, but the gap gets smaller and smaller as time goes by. And it's just not enough anymore.

Four hundred people--400--now own 90% of all our nation's wealth. And the longer and the more we pretend otherwise and knee jerk react based on our traditional paradigm, the more the 99% will lose and probably never recover.

[wordpix]

20. Yes for keeping Medicare but here's the problem: it wasn't designed for people living into 80's-100

Don't know the history but if you can get it at 62, I think the idea was you'd be dead by 70 or so. That's not true anymore with people living into their 80's, 90's and even over 100.

So the answers aren't easy. One answer is to take it away from millionaires who don't need it.

[RebelOne]

22. I have been collecting social security since I was 65.

I was working full-time then, but was laid off January 2010. I had an excellent medical plan through my company, so did not opt to go onto Medicare, But I lost my company plan when I lost my job. I am now on Medicare. I am 72 years old and do not plan to die until I am at least 82 or maybe 90.

You must be 65 to get Medicare. So if you retire at 62 ( which would be classified as early retirement), you would have to wait until you are 65 qualify for Medicare.

[plumbob]

24. Answer are easy. People are not living into 80s-100. Life expectancy

in 1965 in US - 70.2 years. Life expectancy in 2011 in US - 78.5

http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=195

Medicare costs are much lower than any other health plan in the USA - it does not cost - it SAVES. Medicare for all would cut health cost substantially in the country.

That would mean no more private health insurance, and the greedy bastards who run things sure won't like that!

[and-justice-for-all]

23. just more fucking lying from the lying liars. nt

[freshwest]

25. They're not all buying it. See this video where Ryan gets booed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h5kgnE1Xvec