I have spent the better part of the past 5 days
trying to understand the difference between the ObamaCare plan for MediCare and
the Romney-Ryan plan. I think I have an accurate understanding of this
question, now; but I do not recommend that you try this exercise—it is just too
complicated for general consumption. Let me explain it to you in simple terms.
Both sides in the argument are doing their best to distort the ideas of the other;
and neither side is trying to tell the truth about MediCare proposals.
“MediCare, as we know it today” will go away by
means of both plans—it has to; because there is just not enough money to keep
the plan intact for the future. So…both systems will change the plan; and by
both plans, there will be less service. The only question will be, how soon?
And what will be the changes?
Under ObamaCare, $716 billion will be taken out
of MediCare by cutting payments to providers; no benefits will be decreased;
and the money will be put back into MediCare in the form of payments for cancer
screening tests, preventive care, and high cost drugs. Ryan’s plan also
proposes the same $716 billion in provider cuts. Here is where the Romney and
Ryan plans differ: Romney would put the $716 billion back into Medicare to pay
for services. In other words, the Romney plan opposes the cuts, while the Ryan
plan includes them.
Under the Romney-Ryan plan, the MediCare
eligibility age will increase to 67 years by 2034; President Obama is also
considering that change. The Romney-Ryan plan will not affect anyone presently
above the age of 55.
Under the Ryan plan, which passed the House of
Representatives, MediCare recipients would receive “premium support,” which is
another way of saying “voucher” to pay for health care of their own choosing. At
the present time, the voucher would be worth $11,000/year, because that is the
average amount of money MediCare pays for the average Medicare recipient now.
As time goes on the voucher value will increase in value based on the increase
in the gross domestic product+1% yearly. That amount of money will not
completely keep up with the rate of rise in health care costs, because those
health care costs are rising faster than that rate. In the future, patients
will have to make up the difference between the money provided by the voucher
and the charges of the health care provider.
The Romney-Ryan plan would include an option in
which the patient could retain traditional MediCare coverage.
The Republican plan includes higher Medicare
premiums for wealthier beneficiaries. And it includes extra government
subsidies for lower-income beneficiaries. This is similar to the situation
under ObamaCare.
Under the Romney-Ryan plan, seniors will be able
to buy additional insurance to offset the increasing cost of medical services;
but the amount of money they can spend on the additional insurance will be
capped, while the cost of the services, themselves will not be capped. So…one
can see that some health care costs under the Romney-Ryan plan will come out of
the pocket of patients. Unfortunately, I do not see any other way of paying for
health care needs—patients will necessarily have to bear some of the burden of
high cost health care treatment in the future.
The President has claimed that under Romney-Ryan,
seniors will have to pay $6400 more each year for health care coverage. This is
not true; the figure is based on an old plan that is not under consideration
any more.
There is one item in the Obama administration’s
function that must not be overlooked; that is this: Under President Obama’s
leadership, $10.7 billion has been saved by detecting and recovering fraudulent
payments for supposed MediCare treatments over the past 3 years. That is, to my
way of thinking, a very good start in dealing with MediCare fraud; but…it is
estimated from several sources that MediCare fraud amounts to as much as $65
billion yearly! There is a lot of work to do here.
I, personally, favor the Romney-Ryan plan for the
reason that I (and most Americans) can see that ObamaCare involves a huge expansion
of federal government into our daily lives. I do not trust the government to
control large parts part of my life. The Romney-Ryan plan would eliminate a lot
of government control and allow free market forces to decide what the price of
health care should be.
If any of my readers would like to look into this
question more, the best source is http://usat.ly/Og9sGm.
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