One does not need this (very good) article to condemn what Baraq and his (ahem) dogs have wrought. Cutting Medicare by 500 Billion over the next 10 years and knowing the BBoomers demographic (Medicare ‘beneficiaries’ will increase by 36% in the same period) says it all.
He and his are more than knaves. They are lying corruptocrats of the first order. They intend us harm; it is not accidental.
If the House becomes serious after Nov.2, I think it should hold hearings, akin to trials, to bring the fraudsters to justice in the court of public opinion. Resembling the old Un-American Activities hearings. The Ponzi schemes cannot be addressed without enduring public support, because the fixes will be painful and long.
It is impossible for the Medicare-eligible to obtain private health insurance from any source. I’ve tried.
I confess to having mixed feelings about the “gutting Medicare” argument against Obamacare. I understand that many people are depending upon it and so have not made any alternate plans, so it makes sense to me to keep it for those people.
However, at the same time, there is the same entitlement mentality at work here that has caused so many issues. For example, one little-known facet of existing Medicare was that the govt could garnish elderly people’s property to pay for it (unsure of all the details of this).
One older couple I know had the govt come after their old and not very valuable farmhouse and 40 acres. So they immediately deeded it over to their son. And these are not liberals btw, the wife frequently sends me the worst kind of “Obama is a muslim Russian terrorist” conspiracy emails.
So I understand the unwillingness to let the govt take your property but at the same time, money has to come from somewhere.
And Medicare itself is structurally evil and plays the worst kind of bully hardball.
So I remain conflicted about the continuing existence of Medicare.
My mother is 83,has some health issues mainly with her eyes, but is otherwise robust and just as mentally alert as when she was 40. She’s also a widow of 30 years and is dependent on Medicare.
So do I send the funeral expense bill to the Dems when she dies from lack of treatment in a year or so??
I think it was their plan all along… death to the seniors. They denied it a year ago and yet another lie is being exposed.
The effects won’t be limited to seniors.
Take a look at this for a vision of the future. Once the lowered reimbursement rates start driving doctors to opt-out of Medicare and Medicaid, the government has plenty of cards to force acceptance, like a condition of your licensing (in addition to the factors mentioned in the link). That will certainly provoke an exodus of (at least) older doctors from the profession. Hello Massachusetts, UK and Canadian waiting periods (i.e. months).
Financially, Obamacare is a non-starter that has NO hope of working. The only consolation is that the current system of financing medicine was breaking down anyway due to the increasing cross-subsidization of government programs by private insurance. The question is, will we end up with Govt-run medicine (at least single payer), or something entirely new and financially sustainable. If government-run, I wouldn’t count on being allowed to spend your own money on medical care (at least in the US) either.
The level of lying by government has soared to previously unimaginable heights. The whole selling of Obamacare was a lie. It started with the idea we were going to “bend the cost curve down” and insure 30 million more people. No sentient adult could believe that. Then, we find Pelosi has not included the “Doc fix” in the legislation, even though everyone knew it would pass, because it would negatively affect the CBO score. Then we find the double counting: We are going to cut $.5 trillion from Medicare so we can extend the program, but we are going to spend that money on insuring the 30 million additional people. Add to that the idiocy of taxing medical equipment, like pacemakers, and then tell us that will lower the cost of health care. Even a second grader knows enough mathematics to know that is a wash.
Congress knows they are lying. They hoped we would not find out. We should bring back the medieval punishment of “hung, drawn, and quartered” specifically for Congress.
anna said: “I understand that many people are depending upon it and so have not made any alternate plans, so it makes sense to me to keep it for those people.”
The only alternative is to have enough money to pay out of pocket for medical procedures. There is no private insurance available for people over 65 years old and has not been since Medicare was passed back in the 60s. If you are a millionaire then $50,000 for a life saving medical procedure is feasible. It is, however, out of reach for most retirees. We had private medical insurance for the elderly until Medicare was passed. The problem with it was that the insurance companies would cancel on you after your first expensive medical procedure. That was the idea behind Medicare. To provide uncancellable medical insurance to all the elderly. Many said that it was a fiscally unsound idea when it first passed. They were right! It could be made more fiscally sound by increasing the premium that retirees pay on a means tested basis. I’m in Medicare and because my income is above a cut off point, my wife and I pay a premium, set by the government, for our care. It wasn’t supposed to be that way, but they instituted that some years ago. They need to increase it and to ioncrease the co-pays for those who can afford it. Nobody likes to see their costs go up, particularly when you’re on a fixed income or your dollars come from investments. But something has to be done to make Medicare more fiscally sound or it will soon be a low grade, long wait healthcare system like the UK.
You also said: “For example, one little-known facet of existing Medicare was that the govt could garnish elderly people’s property to pay for it (unsure of all the details of this)”
This refers to nursing home costs. Medicare does not pay for extended nursing home costs. Never has. However, many people end up in nursing homes without any insurance. (You can buy nursing home insurance, but it is best to buy when you are young and healthy. If you wait too long you may not be able to get it or it will be inordinately expensive.) If these people end their lives in a nursing home with no way to pay, the government can come after their assets. That is why many ill old people put their property in others names. To protect it from garnishment by the state. It is a way of avoiding paying for services rendered that is, IMHO, irresponsible because it shifts the cost to the taxpayers. Just another of the cost shifting issues that have become endemic to healthcare since Medicare and Medicaid became law and the law was passed requiring Ers to take all irregardless of ability to pay.
JJ, I totally agree with the irresponsibility of shifting your assets to avoid taxation/fees. I mean, I understand the fact that they want to have something to pass on to their kids, but at the same time the expectation is there that the kids will take care of the parents. Huh? seems like doublespeak sometimes.
I for one am kind of glad that Medicare does not cover nursing home stays. I know there are people financially suffering out there (boohoo etc) but really, that is part of life. There is no such thing as enough money for everyone to have all the healthcare they could ever want. In reality, hard times make us better people.
I also understand the dual nature of kids taking care of the parents. In some ways it seems cruel to shovel the elderly off to a nursing home, however many elderly people get really annoying and don’t think that they should have to work to get along with people so it is hard on the kid and their family. For the people who can manage this, more power to them.
I am kind of glad that a lot of conservatives are currently wrestling with issues like these, it marks the first time in my memory that there has been widespread thought about such things. I hope it continues.
Rick Caird:
Yeah, “drawn and quartered” needs to be brought back.
Or SOMETHING, ANYTHING, to focus the {alleged} minds of our elected cretins on
What happened to my comment addressed to JJ?
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One does not need this (very good) article to condemn what Baraq and his (ahem) dogs have wrought. Cutting Medicare by 500 Billion over the next 10 years and knowing the BBoomers demographic (Medicare ‘beneficiaries’ will increase by 36% in the same period) says it all.
He and his are more than knaves. They are lying corruptocrats of the first order. They intend us harm; it is not accidental.
If the House becomes serious after Nov.2, I think it should hold hearings, akin to trials, to bring the fraudsters to justice in the court of public opinion. Resembling the old Un-American Activities hearings. The Ponzi schemes cannot be addressed without enduring public support, because the fixes will be painful and long.
It is impossible for the Medicare-eligible to obtain private health insurance from any source. I’ve tried.
I confess to having mixed feelings about the “gutting Medicare” argument against Obamacare. I understand that many people are depending upon it and so have not made any alternate plans, so it makes sense to me to keep it for those people.
However, at the same time, there is the same entitlement mentality at work here that has caused so many issues. For example, one little-known facet of existing Medicare was that the govt could garnish elderly people’s property to pay for it (unsure of all the details of this).
One older couple I know had the govt come after their old and not very valuable farmhouse and 40 acres. So they immediately deeded it over to their son. And these are not liberals btw, the wife frequently sends me the worst kind of “Obama is a muslim Russian terrorist” conspiracy emails.
So I understand the unwillingness to let the govt take your property but at the same time, money has to come from somewhere.
And Medicare itself is structurally evil and plays the worst kind of bully hardball.
So I remain conflicted about the continuing existence of Medicare.
My mother is 83,has some health issues mainly with her eyes, but is otherwise robust and just as mentally alert as when she was 40. She’s also a widow of 30 years and is dependent on Medicare.
So do I send the funeral expense bill to the Dems when she dies from lack of treatment in a year or so??
I think it was their plan all along… death to the seniors. They denied it a year ago and yet another lie is being exposed.
The effects won’t be limited to seniors.
Take a look at this for a vision of the future. Once the lowered reimbursement rates start driving doctors to opt-out of Medicare and Medicaid, the government has plenty of cards to force acceptance, like a condition of your licensing (in addition to the factors mentioned in the link). That will certainly provoke an exodus of (at least) older doctors from the profession. Hello Massachusetts, UK and Canadian waiting periods (i.e. months).
Financially, Obamacare is a non-starter that has NO hope of working. The only consolation is that the current system of financing medicine was breaking down anyway due to the increasing cross-subsidization of government programs by private insurance. The question is, will we end up with Govt-run medicine (at least single payer), or something entirely new and financially sustainable. If government-run, I wouldn’t count on being allowed to spend your own money on medical care (at least in the US) either.
The level of lying by government has soared to previously unimaginable heights. The whole selling of Obamacare was a lie. It started with the idea we were going to “bend the cost curve down” and insure 30 million more people. No sentient adult could believe that. Then, we find Pelosi has not included the “Doc fix” in the legislation, even though everyone knew it would pass, because it would negatively affect the CBO score. Then we find the double counting: We are going to cut $.5 trillion from Medicare so we can extend the program, but we are going to spend that money on insuring the 30 million additional people. Add to that the idiocy of taxing medical equipment, like pacemakers, and then tell us that will lower the cost of health care. Even a second grader knows enough mathematics to know that is a wash.
Congress knows they are lying. They hoped we would not find out. We should bring back the medieval punishment of “hung, drawn, and quartered” specifically for Congress.
anna said: “I understand that many people are depending upon it and so have not made any alternate plans, so it makes sense to me to keep it for those people.”
The only alternative is to have enough money to pay out of pocket for medical procedures. There is no private insurance available for people over 65 years old and has not been since Medicare was passed back in the 60s. If you are a millionaire then $50,000 for a life saving medical procedure is feasible. It is, however, out of reach for most retirees. We had private medical insurance for the elderly until Medicare was passed. The problem with it was that the insurance companies would cancel on you after your first expensive medical procedure. That was the idea behind Medicare. To provide uncancellable medical insurance to all the elderly. Many said that it was a fiscally unsound idea when it first passed. They were right! It could be made more fiscally sound by increasing the premium that retirees pay on a means tested basis. I’m in Medicare and because my income is above a cut off point, my wife and I pay a premium, set by the government, for our care. It wasn’t supposed to be that way, but they instituted that some years ago. They need to increase it and to ioncrease the co-pays for those who can afford it. Nobody likes to see their costs go up, particularly when you’re on a fixed income or your dollars come from investments. But something has to be done to make Medicare more fiscally sound or it will soon be a low grade, long wait healthcare system like the UK.
You also said: “For example, one little-known facet of existing Medicare was that the govt could garnish elderly people’s property to pay for it (unsure of all the details of this)”
This refers to nursing home costs. Medicare does not pay for extended nursing home costs. Never has. However, many people end up in nursing homes without any insurance. (You can buy nursing home insurance, but it is best to buy when you are young and healthy. If you wait too long you may not be able to get it or it will be inordinately expensive.) If these people end their lives in a nursing home with no way to pay, the government can come after their assets. That is why many ill old people put their property in others names. To protect it from garnishment by the state. It is a way of avoiding paying for services rendered that is, IMHO, irresponsible because it shifts the cost to the taxpayers. Just another of the cost shifting issues that have become endemic to healthcare since Medicare and Medicaid became law and the law was passed requiring Ers to take all irregardless of ability to pay.
JJ, I totally agree with the irresponsibility of shifting your assets to avoid taxation/fees. I mean, I understand the fact that they want to have something to pass on to their kids, but at the same time the expectation is there that the kids will take care of the parents. Huh? seems like doublespeak sometimes.
I for one am kind of glad that Medicare does not cover nursing home stays. I know there are people financially suffering out there (boohoo etc) but really, that is part of life. There is no such thing as enough money for everyone to have all the healthcare they could ever want. In reality, hard times make us better people.
I also understand the dual nature of kids taking care of the parents. In some ways it seems cruel to shovel the elderly off to a nursing home, however many elderly people get really annoying and don’t think that they should have to work to get along with people so it is hard on the kid and their family. For the people who can manage this, more power to them.
I am kind of glad that a lot of conservatives are currently wrestling with issues like these, it marks the first time in my memory that there has been widespread thought about such things. I hope it continues.
Rick Caird:
Yeah, “drawn and quartered” needs to be brought back.
Or SOMETHING, ANYTHING, to focus the {alleged} minds of our elected cretins on
What happened to my comment addressed to JJ?