Democratic Senator Ron Wyden and Republican Congressman Paul D. Ryan, annouced their plan today to fix Medicare. The biggest issue with Medicare currently is that more and more of the baby boomers are qualifying for the program, and there is not going to be enough revenue in payroll taxes to pay for everybody's benefits. Ryan and Wyden's proposal would allow beneficiaries to choose between the traditional Medicare program or private health insurance with premiums subsidized by the government. Their proposal would also cap Medicare spending, not being allowed to increase more than economic growth plus 1%.
Because Medicare is an entitlement program, attempts to reform it are extremely risky politically and are difficult to pass. Capping Medicare spending would likely increase costs for beneficiaries with the traditional program and encourage people to turn to private companies. What are your thoughts about the proposition and how it will be received in Congress?
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5 comments:
I think that this is a good proposition to make in a non election year, but because it is I think that either most will agree to it, or none will agree to it, with the least likely outcome being that a party actually sells the idea to the public and it helps their campaigns.
I believe that something does need to be done about Medicare because it will become a major problem (just like Social Security) as the baby boomers get old. This seems like a good idea that is worth considering. However, it is very risky to propose something that will cut Medicare because it will be very unpopular. I think members of Congress just need to deal with the political consequences and find a solution. This could be it.
I am not in support of the Medicare proposal. Private companies have not made health care in America easy, and will continue to do what they need to do to maximize profit. Medicare should not be privatized, or I fear many older Americans will not be able to afford the private company medicare. Raising taxes may not be favorable in election time, but the Irag war is officially over and a cutback in military spending could make a great impact in helping to pay for baby boomer's social security and medicare.
I think that instead of putting a cap on Medicare, the minimum age of legibility should be raised in order to cut some costs in the future. With an action such as putting a cap on Medicare, many people are likely to be angry at Congress and no politician would want to support it out of fear of damaging their chances at reelection. Raising the minimum age, on the other hand, will be more likely to pass, since although it will anger some people, more people will accept it, since it will not in any way limit the flow of benefits.
I agree with Ryan. We should raise the age of retirement to decrease the amount of money that goes out to retirement. At the same time though, won't this cause a decrease in spending in our economy? If people aren't receiving their retirement benefits, then they'll be less likely to spend money which will only cause a decrease in the amount of income our country gets.
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