What do you feel should be done about Medicare?

[serryjw]

I think Medicare is a lot more serious problem than SS. The boomers are getting older and we will bankrupt the country in 10 years.

[juliana24]

1. Both SS and Medicare are going to be huge problems soon.

Problems * and the rethuglycans will do nothing about :(

[serryjw]

3. The difference is

With SS the government KNOWS the problem and has possible solutions. With Medicare the degree of the problem is unknown and solutions are none existent

[babylonsister]

2. We need a president who gives a shit about these issues.

We don't have one, and they are problems that will affect everyone eventually.

[NAO]

4. We need national health care for all ages, no means testing

We already have 'nationalized police protection', 'nationalized military protection' and we have not 'gone bankrupt' (granted, there was some increasing of the 'debt limit'). There is no reason why we could not provide national health with the same aggressiveness that we have applied to military spending.

We need to get rid of the idea of "medicare" as something for old people, or for poor old people.

If people need it, EVERYONE gets it, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

If a burglar is breaking into your house, it does not matter how much you make. You call the police, and they show up. No asking about insurance, credit cards, or ability to pay.

If a disease is ravaging your body...

Well, which is more important?

Means testing is the way the reactionary right builds the resentment against the poor that fuels their movement. Programs that are not means tested (such as police, fire, military, protection) are not questioned or resented. Anytime you introduce means testing you invite resentment. Anything that EVERYONE needs, like health care, education, etc. should be provided to everyone without means testing.

[Hidden Stillness]

5. Agree With This--Increase the Coverage (To All), Increase the Premium Pool

I agree with this. I think the only way is to counter the culling that the corporate insurance industry has been doing for many years now, which caused the decrease of the pool of money paid in by the general, healthy population, and the increase of a drain on the system by a population that needs a lot of medical care--the older population generally--but cannot contribute to the premium payments as a healthy non-user, the way an insurance fund needs. The answer is clear: join the rest of the modern world, and make medical care a citizens' right, and a cost bourne by everyone, like public education, roads and other infrastructure, etc. Increase the coverage of a general, Medicare style plan--where it covers any real diagnosis, you go to the doctor you want, it is a single-billing agency only--and the problem would be solved merely by countering this disastrous situation. It was caused exactly by the corporate greed for profits that led them to rewrite the laws so that they could get the healthy people who would pay premiums, and not use the system much, and leave the chronically ill to a now-overburdened, largely State system. The only thing wrong with the whole system is that the pool of contributors is no longer large enough--make it general, universal, so that the larger, healthy population will be paying into it, like Social Security, a cost paid by all of us, for all of us.

[blondeatlast]

17. It also dilutes the risk pool dramatically, lowering costs for everyone

dramatically.

[area51]

10. What NAO said. (n/t)

[area51]

11. Accidental dupe (n/t)

[blondeatlast]

16. So right, and Big Insurance has become so greedy in regards to employer

sponsored plans that employers; even the biggest businesses; are starting to see a univerdal, single payer plan as the solution.

Ic can't happen soon enough.

[merwin]

6. Scrap it and let the geezers fend for themselves!

That's what the NeoCons are going for!

[silverojo]

7. Not likely

There's a new baby boom that took place several years ago, and those kids are now entering the work force. They'll help finance Medicare for the aging boomers.

[FloridaPat]

13. These are the ones who will bankrupt SS. There is no large group

behind them. Remember the gov't keeps insisting big problems in 40 years? This is the big problem. Most of the boomers will be dead.

[Greyhound]

8. Expand it to include all Americans and eliminate the health insurance

industry. Re-direct the resulting $ into the system and fix it for everybody except the shareholders, somebody has to pay and it's their turn.

[Yupster]

9. I think the answer has got to be

national health insurance, but it's going to be a huge and growing expense regardless just like it is everywhere else where the population is aging.

[FloridaPat]

12. There is no problem with SS. The gov't has been taking extra money

for the last 10 or so years to pay for us boomers. The gov't will run out of that money in 40 years. We will all be around 100. Only 1% of the people on SS are a 100.

Medicare is another problem. Universal health care would go a long way in solving a lot of our problems. Especially since we pay twice as much as anyone with national health care per person.

And the country is already bankrupt.

[WePurrsevere]

14. Medicare should be totally revamped. Get a committee made up of...

medical professionals, caregivers, seniors, disabled & Ted Kennedy to rewrite the whole thing from the bottom up.... especially the prescription idiocy. Have them add in things that are needed by the PEOPLE and have been lacking (basic dental, hearing, vision, mobilty, etc) and remove things that only benefit corporations, etc.

For the percent of/money I pay out for Medicare every month I should be covered for medical things I truly NEED like: having my teeth repaired or replaced, glasses, hearing aids, an electric scooter so I can enjoy life OUTSIDE my home as well, even if I can get around inside my home w/o one.

Most of all I'd like to see them find a way to open Medicare up as a National Health Care Plan which is why I suggested Ted Kennedy... he has a pretty good idea already out there. B-)

[serryjw]

20. I agree with everyone on one universal health care system

BUT we do have to re-think when we spend it. In america we don't want to accept that people die. The right to die with dignity will be become law. The cost of keeping people hooked up to tubes at 85 with no chance of any quality of life is a waste. My aunt got lung cancer at 84. The doctor wanted to do chemo. She had no chance of survival why would anyone do this? Fortunately, she turned it down...and died 3 weeks later.
quote.......
The danger is that the bulk of health spending will be in the last 6 months of peoples' lives making modern health systems an expensive way of dying and not cost-effective in terms of allocation of national resources
end quote.........
http://www.drs.org.au/articles/1997/medicare.htm

[napi21]

15. The problems with medicare are direcly related to the

health care $$ problems that exist in every other area. You & I can't afford the premiums anymore, the businesses can't afford the costs of insurance either & are putting more and more onto the employees. Why is it so difficult for Congress to see that it's all ONE BIG PROBLEM? A solution must be found to fix "health care" across the board and it will fix medicare too.

[blondeatlast]

18. Offer it to everyone; increase the fundingpool; dilute the risk pool.

Win-win.

[madfloridian]

19. People pay for it monthly...leave it alone. $88 a month, isn't it?

People pay for their Social Security during their work years, and Medicare out of their SS checks. It is not something they are getting for free.

[Vinca]

21. Expand it to include every person in the country.

Pay for it with a tax increase - justified because people will no longer pay insurance premiums. If it's run as efficiently as the VA system, the overall savings would be huge. If politicians can't stomach a tax increase on income, institute a nationwide sales tax.