Medicare funding report puts onus on Bush, Congress to act

[maddezmom]

Source: Chicago Tribune

Published April 23, 2007, 7:30 PM CDT
WASHINGTON -- For the first time, President Bush and Congress were put on legal notice Monday that they will have to consider legislation to overhaul the Medicare program next year. But "consider" is a long way from "pass."

It happened because trustees of the health-care program for the elderly projected for the second year in a row that general taxpayer revenue would have to bear more than 45 percent of the program's cost.


Their report triggered a law passed in 2003 aimed at trying to force action on Medicare's growing financial problem.

As a result, Bush is required to present a plan to Congress so the 45 percent limit isn't breached in the future. Congress is supposed to consider legislation, but is under no obligation to pass it. Payroll taxes and insurance premiums also support the Medicare program.

Politics being what they are in an election year, no final action is likely in 2008, although both parties are expected to engage in heated debate over how to fix Medicare—and Social Security as well.




Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070423social,1,6713292.story?track=rss

[papau]

1. moving the funding of national health from wages to real income is "bad" - why?

Indeed that is one of he reasons for rejecting the wage tax approach to universal health that some of our more cowardly universal health ideas have latched onto so as to keep health insurance funding "employment based" - meaning the investment income of the rich is protected from paying for anything to do with health -


except "general funds" - read the standard Federal Income Tax - is allowed to pay for Medicare up to 45% of the annual cost.

This "general funds" approach is not a bad way to pay for health coverage.

[Vinca]

2. What would be so bad about having a few price controls on the

health care industry? Aspirin does not have to cost $5.00 a tablet.

[WePurrsevere]

3. Many folks on Medicare are already being forced to chose betw food & health

coverage so heck yeah they need to fix the darn thing BUT I sure as heck don't want any "fix" that would be offered/pushed by this RepubliCON cabal. :grr:

Every year our rates go up and the coverage of what is covered is cut back. Currently I pay almost 20% of my already low SSDI benefit out for Medicare because although I rarely use it (we use alt health mostly) I'm terrified that if I cancel the darn thing I'd suddenly really need it (we already decided to pass on Part D until the idiots fix it, thankfully our county offers all residents a discount Rx & medical program). They're talking about increasing it again for next year as well so those seniors and disabled that rely on Social Security for income will have even less of an inflation increase... which is already lower then real inflation (what we get can not go lower by law but our COLA can disappear or be nibbled away by quite a bit). x(

(BTW in this article is one of my MAJOR bug-a-boos... "health-care program for the elderly". Medicare and Social Security is NOT just seniors. Yes, they are the majority with 33.2+ million receiving benefits but there are also 8.2+ million disabled; 16.6+ million survivors of deceased workers and tucked into those numbers are 4+ million beneficiaries that are CHILDREN.

One thing I just thought of is the extra burden this WAR will probably put on the SSDI/Medicare system. Although disabled/wounded soldiers will get Veteran's Benefits, they and their children under 18 may also be eligible to get Social Security benefits if they've earned enough "credits". This is also the same for the survivors of deceased workers if a parent is KIA and ahs earned enough work credits.

I think I need to take a few breaths and calm down... getting this ticked off isn't good for my health and we can't afford (even with Medicare) for me to end up with another hospital bill we have to struggle to try and pay. :(

<*edited to add in a link to SS stats and facts: http://www.cbpp.org/8-11-05socsec.htm >

[Robbien]

4. Any change to Medicare/Social Security by these crooks

will be a very bad change to users of Medicare/Social Security.

The only way to win in the current situation is to provent these guys from touching Medicare/Social Security. Don't change it. Don't touch it.

[bemildred]

5. Just make it 100% general taxpayer revenue, like the Pentagon.

And incorporate it in a single-payer, not-for-profit, national public health system. Don't wait for the next pandemic to realize we need that.

[Tyler Durden]

6. Why don't they just pay back the debt to the trusts?

We have been borrowing money from the Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security trusts and dropping in Federal Debt for the last 30 years, give or take, and it did slow down a little for Bill Clinton until the rePukes under Newt started giving tax breaks to their rich buddies.

I've got a GREAT IDEA! Why not quit that money trap WAR and funnel the 300 billion plus per year into Universal Healthcare...

Oh yeah. Right. My bad.

[bobthedrummer]

7. This is certainly back in the news, Jeb Bush was made a Director of Tenet Healthcare

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x847120