My Teabagger US Rep weighs in on Medicare.

[Curmudgeoness]

Rep Mike Kelly (R-PA) was quoted today in our local paper on the Ryan Medicare "plan". He is telling us that this plan "does not make Medicare a voucher program, but provides premium support. This is necessary to stop the fund from drying up in nine years."

I just love it when they find a way to change the wording to make it sound great instead of shitty. Doesn't "premium support" sound all warm and fuzzy? From now on, we will call shit "processed food".

Now you will love this part: "Medicare will be eliminated as we know it, so that's the reality. If people want to play around with that and say you're taking things from people, nothing could be further from the truth. I think America's tired of the fear factor. If you're 54 and younger, we're going to fix it so it'll be easier for you. Seniors are safe in this program."



Really??? Really??? Ryan and the other Republicans are going to "fix" it? Make it easer on us? And seniors are "safe"?

It makes me want to weep. I am trying to compose a letter to him, letting him know how I stand on this (even if he could not care less). I also want to ask him to explain in detail to me how this plan would work and what would happen when premiums are too high for the vast majority of the elderly and they become uninsured. If I hear back from him, I will share his comments. Any suggestions on things to add to my letter will be considered.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. It's probably not a good idea, but I'd tell him to go to hell.

:evilgrin:

[Curmudgeoness]

3. I might as well, for all that he will listen to me. nt

[msongs]

2. most dems are unable or unwilling to come up with effective marketing/framing, so repubs set the

tone. Like now its all about cuts cuts cuts - the repub dream

[Curmudgeoness]

5. It's a wet dream. They are all wet.

But hell, we are not unintellegent. Certainly we can find ways to market our ideas and policies in a way that will appeal to the masses.

[peacebird]

4. I'm 54 and must tell you that I do not feel safe... I feel like they are throwing all of us

under the bus. A voucher to spend on insurance premiums? So I cn "choose" my health care sounds an awful lot like "choose between eating cat food and having medical care" because I am pretty sure the FOR PROFIT insurance companies do not care about the suffering of their clients.

Neither do the R's pushing this travesty.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. I feel very sorry for you. That is an age where you are

between a rock and a hard spot. I have rarely been happy to be 57, but at this point, I am grateful. But that is not that I do not intend to fight like hell for people younger than I am. I just feel sure that this plan will not happen, but I may be pissing in the wind.

You are right, insurance companies have proven time and time again that they do not care about their customers. This whole idea would shred any safety net that seniors have. Do you think that there is any way in hell that you could have the time to "plan" for your future medical needs in about 10 years?

[peacebird]

8. my mother was hospitalized for a week in January - the cost was prohibitive

but she is okay and back home.

If in 30 years that happens to me under the Republican voucher program will that stay bankrupt my husband and I? Will we have to sell out home to pay? Already we fear the cost of retiring, his parents out of pocket medical expenses have been huge. On a fixed income the rising cost of prescriptions & doctor visits can be catastrophic. Sorry for preaching to the choir...

[anneboleyn]

20. My thoughts too. My medical costs are unbelievable now, and I have insurance

We can't even imagine what is going to happen to us in the future. I don't know what will happen to us if Medicare is destroyed by this program.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. This graph shows how much more Medicare would cost under Ryan's plan.

How many retired people can afford insurance costs like that?

[mrmpa]

11. I'm 54 with a horrendous medical history, I am currently.......

cobra'd. My cost $471 a month. I checked other plans before accepting cobra, hoping to find something cheaper. The cheapest rate I got was $921 a month, and this was a plan with no questions about pre-existing conditions. It also did not cover prescriptions, and didn't kick any money in until I had spent $3500.

I can only imagine what my costs will be in 11 years under Ryan's plan.

[anneboleyn]

21. It is terrible. I sympathize (I posted below that my costs are extremely high)

[w8liftinglady]

32. I encountered the very same thing before my brain surgery

i was GLAD that I qualified for medicare/disability...my insurance was costing me 650/month for me and kids.

[Historic NY]

9. boy are seniors going to be upset with 8 grand vouchers....a scooter costs..

Using your Medicare benefit, you could get a Jazzy Select Power Chair (retail price $5496) from us for only $728.28. Doesn't leave much left of the voucher.

[madamesilverspurs]

10. Future seniors should be concerned about Ryan's plan...

-

[Turbineguy]

12. The key is to make you

your own death panel.

"We promised him good care, but he chose to shoot himself instead."

[unkachuck]

13. "I just love it when they find a way to change the wording to make it sound great..."

....the corporate Republicons are very good at double-talk....'but we're only trying to save SS, Medicare and Medicaid'....they're trying to save SS, Medicare and Medicaid by destroying them?

....if there's one thing that should unite the baggers and Progressives, it's keeping SS and Medicare out of the hands of the corporate pukes....

....we're either old or we have parents and grandparents that depend on SS and Medicare....and if our future is as bleak as the corporate Republicons say, then our children and grandchildren will depend on SS, Medicare and Medicaid even more than us....

....we paid for these programs all of our lives, why should we give them away?

[footinmouth]

14. This makes me happy to be old already

At least I won't have to worry about this. I just turned 62.

Take a look 20 yrs down the road. A 40 something could conceivably be trying to save for their own retirement/medical costs, putting their children through college and helping their aging/broke parents survive. Doesn't sound like a very good future to me.

Did they designate a dollar amount for the premium help? Since the new old people won't be going into this plan for 11 years I shudder to think what the premiums will be then. I know the insurance companies just love new customers, but I don't think these are the folks they're looking for.

[Curmudgeoness]

22. That is what I think, what will these 40-somethings and beyond do?

And what will the private insurance companies be charging by then? I am not so sure, though, that they do not want these folks. If they can get lots of premiums, and deny a lot of coverages, they will make a fortune with all these people. I think that the insurance companies are pushing for this plan.

[calimary]

29. I hear ya. I'm gonna be 58 this year. Husband will be 62. But I'm with Curmudgeoness upthread -

that does NOT mean I'm not gonna fight like all hell to save Medicare, Social Security, the whole social safety net, from the republi-CONS, who are only interested in "taking America back" - to the time before the New Deal. Maybe all the way back to the Dark Ages.

[rgbecker]

15. If this is such a good idea, why not do it now, for everyone, even those 55 and older?

[Jack Sprat]

16. Give your Repub reps a daily piece of your mind.

Especially if you are living in red-state hell, then never miss a chance to email or mail them regularly. It lets them know that a percentage of their constituents are not stupid enough to have voted them in, and that a healthy percentage is not buying their BS. Besides that, doing so is a good tonic for taking out your frustrations on the people who cause them.

[Curmudgeoness]

17. I agree with you that we all have to make sure that the Reps

hear from us, and know that there are other opinions within the people they represent. And yes, it is a good tonic.

[anneboleyn]

18. I am a young woman with a major illness ($$$). I can't imagine what is going to happen to people if

this "plan" actually goes through. I am very concerned that people who may accept cuts to Medicare have not dealt with a serious illness (close family member or their own illness) and don't know how unbelievably expensive health care is -- and how quickly the costs compound.

A $15,000 voucher for health care for seniors? This could be eaten up by one hospital stay or a couple of imaging procedures and some standard blood tests! Medications alone can be thousands of dollars per month. I commented in another thread that I have multiple MRIs per year; each procedure costs $5,000. I just can't even imagine what will happen to people if Medicare is destroyed by this plan. People will be losing their life savings, not to mention their homes. And the American tradition of parents leaving their homes to their children will not happen as parents sell their homes to pay for "premium" healthcare.

[spanone]

19. their goal is to privatize medicare & medicaid....eliminate social security

[Curmudgeoness]

24. I know that is the goal, but to what purpose. That is what I don't

understand at all.

[Historic NY]

26. Greed more money for investors....

pretty soon the speculators on Wall Street will be playing the insurance market & mortality tables.

[freshwest]

27. Sorry to say, it's about population control.

[area51]

30. Exactly.

republicans aren't pro-life, they're pro-death and pro-death panel.

Each day, 273 people die due to lack of health care in the U.S.; that's 100,000 deaths per year.

We need single-payer health care, not a welfare bailout for the serial-killer insurance agencies.

We don't need the GingrichCare of mandated, unregulated, for-profit insurance that is still too expensive, only pays parts of medical bills, denies claims, bankrupts and kills people.

Republinazi '93 plan:

"Subtitle F: Universal Coverage - Requires each citizen or lawful permanent resident to be covered under a qualified health plan or equivalent health care program by January 1, 2005."

"Employer-based health insurance has always been a bad idea.
Your life should not depend on who you work for."
-- T. McKeon

"Any proposal that sticks with our current dependence on for-profit private insurers ... will not be sustainable.
And the new law will not get us to universal coverage ...." -- T.R. Reid, The Healing of America

[freshwest]

34. Awesome post, may I share your analysis?

[bertman]

23. Here, I've started a draft of the letter for you, Curmudgeoness:

Dear Representative DipShit,

Are you out of your fucking mind??!!





Okay, Curm, you take over from there.

[Curmudgeoness]

25. Thanks. That is basically what I had in mind, but

I was hoping for some more rational comments. But you and I are on the same page.

[brightertomorrow]

28. I would read the link below

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/119xx/doc11966/11-17-Rivlin-Ryan_Preliminary_Analysis.pdf

and ask him about the "cost sharing" rules starting in 2013. Sounds like that would affect the seniors now but I would be interested to hear his answer as I am truly reading and trying to figure it all out myself.

[Curmudgeoness]

38. Thanks for the link. And welcome to DU.

I have to admit that I don't understand much of what is being said in this link, so I will have to do more research on some of the issues addressed. I am hoping for an answer from him.

[Vinca]

31. Time for a letter to the paper.

The baggers are so dim witted, they'll probably believe this character.

[DCKit]

33. "Premium Support".... too damn funny.

I wonder what he says about rape or spousal abuse.

Somebody, please yank that unicorn out of his ass.

[Curmudgeoness]

37. I knew other people would like that premium support spin.

Rape, suppose, is just non-consentual sex. Spousal abuse is maybe just a marital dispute. Or with Kelly's "take no prisoners" attitude, it is probably getting the little woman in line. (Not that he could get his little woman in line, since she is Phillips Oil Company heiress.)

[Mnemosyne]

35. Kelly may end up making Phil 'tits on a bull' English, look like an almost human rep.

:puke:

Gawd, I hate this state; or at least this area of it. :puke:

[Curmudgeoness]

36. I completely agree with you, and never thought I would say that

I wish English was back if I only had the choice of English or Kelly. What were the voters thinking? Dahlkemper was not my favorite candidate or Rep, but after seeing debates between her and Kelly, I was in shock that he won. I hope there is a lot of buyer's remorse here and next time it will be better---if we survive that long.