48% say hcr needs further action. The elderly (who vote) dislike it while the young (non voters) do

[dkf]

"The largest single group, 48%, calls the legislation "a good first step" that needs to be followed by more action. And 4% say the bill itself makes the most important changes needed in the nation's health care system."

"A solid majority of seniors oppose the bill; a solid majority of those younger than 40 favor it."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-03-23-health-poll-favorable_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Howard Dean predicted 30 more years fighting with insurance companies. The battle hasn't even begun. Until we have a public option or single payer this thing is half baked and the population realizes it.

[lamp_shade]

1. I live near a retirement community... there are several Senior Centers. Guess what

the TV's at these locations DEFAULT to? Yup... FOX.

[NJmaverick]

2. Those numbers will change once the seniors start getting their checks.

[bigdarryl]

27. what CHECKS there not getting any check they will get a rebate in the doughnut hole

and that doesn't start until the middle of September

[Jennicut]

3. I am in the under 40 group. I guess I will be explaining this bill to my 89 year old Grandma.

Older people are easily misled. And they have trouble shutting off their windshield wipers on their cars. At least, my Grandma does. She had to take her car all the way back to the dealership to be told how to turn them off. But she voted for Obama so she is a good lady. A Dem from a young age.

[marlakay]

18. Not all of them my 83 yr old mom loves Obama too nt

[MadBadger]

4. Well all those elderly will die via Death Panel

Problem Solved!

[BeyondGeography]

25. A handy provision that

See you in the Robbespierre Room.

[HughMoran]

5. Seniors don't like it, so adding a public option that doesn't affect them will ..

do what?

LOL @ logic.

[dkf]

6. Just saying If we rely on the tepid support from non voters that portends

A bad outcome.

But maybe that is too complicated a concept?

[Bluenorthwest]

21. Big mistake to assume the seniors are about self interest

Most older people have interest in politics because of their younger relatives. They care about their children and grandchildren and the world they will live in.

[The Hope Mobile]

24. create competition and thereby some cost control nt

[HughMoran]

26. .

[sandnsea]

7. When the donut hole starts to close

and they get free preventative health check-ups, the seniors will be thrilled.

[dkf]

9. Except they are taking away medicare advantage which

Offered donut hole coverage for half the Ma part d plans.

Taking away Medicare advantage which works more like hmos limiting oop costs will have some impact too as in general it is a better plan than the traditional 80/20 coinsurance method that Medicare uses.

[sandnsea]

10. They are not taking away Medicare Advantage

Good fucking god, does your hatred go so deep that you have to lie to destroy this President.

[dkf]

11. Isn't that where the Medicare savings comes from?

That is a substantial funding mechanism. So where does the money from Medicare cuts come fro
My understanding is it comes out of Medicare advantage.

[sandnsea]

12. Only according to Fox News

The savings comes from reducing overpayments to insurance companies who manage Medicare Advantage. I would think people who oppose insurance company give-aways would at least be rejoicing with a $500 billion cut to insurance.

When you repeat these right wing talking points, you kind of expose your agenda. I just can't figure out what personal satisfaction you get from lying about a Democratic President.

[dkf]

13. Cut payments and keep benefits the same?

Yeah we will see how that works. I'm laughing at the thought.

I'm guessing overpayments means in relation to regular Medicare yet advantage offers lower oop costs. This tells me that costs will be rising or benefits will be decreased. Either way screams we will see unhappy old people to me.

[Jennicut]

19. The overpayments are not usually spent on better care. And it will strenghten Medicare to reduce it.

"The government is overpaying private insurance companies. Part of the recent rise in Medicare
costs – and in premiums for seniors – stems from extra subsidies to private insurance companies.
Medicare Advantage is part of the Medicare program that allows beneficiaries to receive services via
private plans. Policy changes, particularly in 2003, ratcheted up payment levels to private plans. The
federal government pays private insurance companies on average 14 percent more for providing coverage
to Medicare Advantage beneficiaries than it would pay for the same beneficiary in the traditional
Medicare program. This overpayment is as high as 20 percent in certain parts of the country.

The overpayments do not improve quality. There is no evidence that this extra
payment leads to better quality for Medicare beneficiaries. Insurers, not seniors or the Medicare
program, determine how these overpayments are used – and this includes marketing, profits, and
other administrative costs. This means that seniors do not always get the full overpayments back in the
form of extra benefits or improved quality care. In fact, because Medicare Advantage plans have
flexibility to determine their own cost-sharing arrangements, seniors can end up spending more
out-of-pocket under a Medicare Advantage plan, not less.

Private plans contend that low-income and minority Medicare beneficiaries disproportionately rely
on Medicare Advantage for benefits and that eliminating the overpayments would hurt them. In
fact, most low-income, minority seniors obtain additional coverage through Medicaid, not Medicare
Advantage. These “dual eligible” beneficiaries receive cost-sharing protection and extra benefits
through the Medicaid program."

http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/medicare/medicare.pdf

[dkf]

32. That doesn't sound right to me.

Traditional Medicare actually has considerable gaps including the fact that you are liable for the first 3 pints of blood (so odd!) The plans are 20% coinsurance and has lifetime maximums on the number of days they pay for hospital visits. I had to read up on Medicare and was surprised how much it didn't cover. That is why a medigap policy is pretty necessary to fill in the holes Medicare doesn't take care of.

On the other hand people who have Medicare advantage cannot get medigap policies because these holes are already filled.

When I was reading up on Medicare vs Medicare advantage I could not figure out why anyone would take the traditional over advantage. So it seems to me the excess cost is because those under advantage get a more expensive and better product and that is the "excess" payment I think they are speaking to.

I got moved from an HMO to a coinsurance program and my oop costs are up even for my limited use. I can't imagine how much more the difference would be if I had real expenses.

[Cha]

23. +1

[izzybeans]

8. They need to pump up the CLASS Act provisions for long term care for the elderly.

This bill expanded federal funds for home and community based services for the elderly dramatically. When they find out about it. It's all over for republicans.

Teddy Kennedy introduced the CLASS Act some time before he died last year.

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/a-new-long-term-care-insurance-program/

[Hello_Kitty]

14. Definitely. It's a very good feature of the bill and they should have highlighted it. eom

[frazzled]

15. The elderly in my family like it

They have grandchildren, so they know how this affects the non-Medicare population, especially younger people who are having trouble getting jobs right now. They are also INFORMED.

The elderly who oppose it have apparently been misled by Fox News and other such sources.

[marlakay]

16. they probably oppose it because they have been told

it will cause medicare to go bankrupt or some other lie like that. Older people are vulnerable.

[DevonRex]

17. My mother, an eighty yo Repub, likes that her Rxs will be cheaper

now under Medicare. She might even consent to get some filled. :shrug:

[LisaM]

20. Seniors may come around, but young people need to keep voting

I read that there were 15 million new voters in 2008. If those people want Obama to succeed, they have to stay engaged. It just bugs me that lots of them won't. Some is a normal drop off between Presidential election years, but I think a lot is people with short attention spans who want immediate results. Which is sadly the way a lot of people are now.

[goclark]

22. The "young" now will be able to vote in future elections

By the way, Howard Dean supported this Bill unless I missed something.

[tallahasseedem]

28. They wont once that donut hole is filled...

If they still don't then by all means, vote for a 'pub who will take it away.

[BlooInBloo]

29. Confirming the youth turnout in the last election was horribad.

Wait, wut?

[WI_DEM]

30. Is there a more selfish group than senior citizens? it's alright if they get their government paid

plan but screw anybody else. Of course not all seniors believe this way.

[harun]

31. I noticed the Seniors calling in to CSPAN to say they were against

gubbernut run HC all were asked by the host if they were on Medicare, they would answer yes and that they liked it, then he would say "You know that is gov't program, right?".