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Health, Wellness, Sex and Body Discuss Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble at the General Discussion; While Mitt Romney and Paul D. Ryan are campaigning on a promise to "preserve and protect" Medicare, their proposal to ...

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Old 08-19-2012, 01:43 AM
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Default Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble

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While Mitt Romney and Paul D. Ryan are campaigning on a promise to "preserve and protect" Medicare, their proposal to revamp the popular government health insurance program would be the plan's biggest gamble since it was created nearly half a century ago.

The members of the Republican presidential ticket argue that giving seniors vouchers to shop for a private insurance plan would spark competition among health insurers, holding down costs and ensuring the long-term viability of Medicare.

But several previous experiments with privatizing Medicare insurance coverage have ended up raising costs to taxpayers. And on the other side, there is little evidence that moving millions of elderly and disabled patients into commercial health plans will protect their coverage or tame the nation's skyrocketing healthcare tab.

"Doubling down on private insurers is a risky proposition," said University of North Carolina health policy professor Jonathan Oberlander, a leading Medicare historian. "Medicare has lost money on private plans for a long time."

In recent days, the campaign debate has focused on one element of the Medicare puzzle: President Obama's effort to reduce Medicare spending by about $716 billion over the next decade as part of his healthcare overhaul. Romney, accusing Obama of "raiding" the program, says he would restore that money. Ryan, who once proposed the same cuts, now says he agrees with his running mate.

By restoring the spending that was cut, Romney and Ryan would open a large deficit in Medicare, pushing the program's main trust fund into the red in just four years, rather than 12 under Obama's plan. The former Massachusetts governor hasn't said how he would address that.

The sniping over those cuts, however, obscures bigger questions about what Medicare will look like for the roughly 50 million elderly and disabled Americans who rely on it.

In the face of unsustainable costs, Obama is pursuing a Medicare strategy, enacted in his 2010 healthcare law, that relies heavily on federal administration of the insurance program to force doctors and hospitals to improve their quality and efficiency. That is designed to preserve the program largely in its current form.

Romney, Ryan and other Republicans say that approach won't work.

"The future of Medicare should be marked by competition, choice, and by innovation, rather than bureaucracy, stagnation and bankruptcy," Romney said last fall when he unveiled his Medicare plan. "Tomorrow's seniors should have the freedom to choose what their health coverage looks like."

If Romney and Ryan are wrong, however, seniors would end up paying much more for their medical coverage. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan federal agency, estimates that Ryan's latest plan — which closely parallels Romney's — would increase the average cost for a senior entering the program in 2030 by as much as $2,200 a year.

Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble - latimes.com


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Will voters take the chance?
Time will tell.
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Old 08-19-2012, 02:04 AM
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Default Re: Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble

While this article attacks and attacks Republicans, it neglects to tell the obvious situation...

...Without reform, medicare will cease to exist in less than two decades and NO ONE will have it...

Whether you like him or not, Ryan's plan SAVES Medicare...It doesn't put it's hands over it's eyes pretending nothing wrong until "Poof"...There's nothing left in it...
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Old 08-19-2012, 03:00 AM
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Default Re: Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble

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Originally Posted by cnredd View Post
While this article attacks and attacks Republicans, it neglects to tell the obvious situation...

...Without reform, medicare will cease to exist in less than two decades and NO ONE will have it...

Whether you like him or not, Ryan's plan SAVES Medicare...It doesn't put it's hands over it's eyes pretending nothing wrong until "Poof"...There's nothing left in it...
f you think private vouchers will save medicare talk to someone (ss recipient) about Part D.

Obama save 700 billion in cost saving measures. At least that is good until '33.
There is no historic pretext for insurance companies charging less. The burden on premium hikes will be on seniors.
And what does Ryan intend to do about Medicaid recipients? I haven't heard that yet, though I may have missed it.
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Old 08-19-2012, 08:05 AM
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Default Re: Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble

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Originally Posted by saltwn View Post
f you think private vouchers will save medicare talk to someone (ss recipient) about Part D.

Obama save 700 billion in cost saving measures. At least that is good until '33.
There is no historic pretext for insurance companies charging less. The burden on premium hikes will be on seniors.
And what does Ryan intend to do about Medicaid recipients? I haven't heard that yet, though I may have missed it.
obama cuts 700 billion from medicare deary. His plan would cut what doctors and hospitals would get in payments, and who would that hurt? Seniors. There are already doctors refusing to see medicare patients. If you think obamacare is the answer just wait a year or two if he gets reelected, that's when the real damage will start.
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Old 08-20-2012, 01:50 PM
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Default Re: Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble

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Originally Posted by saltwn View Post
f you think private vouchers will save medicare talk to someone (ss recipient) about Part D.

Obama save 700 billion in cost saving measures. At least that is good until '33.
There is no historic pretext for insurance companies charging less. The burden on premium hikes will be on seniors.
And what does Ryan intend to do about Medicaid recipients? I haven't heard that yet, though I may have missed it.
Medicare part D has cost 40% less than budgeted because providers must compete with each other.

Medicare will be reformed into a block grant system administered by the states. An approach similar to that of the OA on welfare work requirements.
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Old 08-20-2012, 10:24 PM
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Default Re: Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble

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Originally Posted by saltwn View Post
Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble - latimes.com


More at site.

Will voters take the chance?
Time will tell.
When your bus uis headed over the cliff into the gorge, a risky turn is in order.
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Old 08-21-2012, 02:39 PM
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Default Re: Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble

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Originally Posted by saltwn View Post
f you think private vouchers will save medicare talk to someone (ss recipient) about Part D.

Obama save 700 billion in cost saving measures. At least that is good until '33.
There is no historic pretext for insurance companies charging less. The burden on premium hikes will be on seniors.
And what does Ryan intend to do about Medicaid recipients? I haven't heard that yet, though I may have missed it.
Those "cost-saving measures" will do nothing except make the problem of lack of medical care professionals even worse. When Drs. can't make any money, they'll change how they do business so that they can afford to stay in business. This means cutting costs - like wages, equipment, supplies, training, etc.
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Old 08-21-2012, 02:44 PM
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Default Re: Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble

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Originally Posted by MrLiberty View Post
obama cuts 700 billion from medicare deary. His plan would cut what doctors and hospitals would get in payments, and who would that hurt? Seniors. There are already doctors refusing to see medicare patients. If you think obamacare is the answer just wait a year or two if he gets reelected, that's when the real damage will start.
700 was saved and some was shifted over to Obama care with the patients, Deary. That's another myth being perpetrated. Don't believe me look it up.
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Old 08-21-2012, 02:47 PM
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Default Re: Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble

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Originally Posted by faithful_servant View Post
Those "cost-saving measures" will do nothing except make the problem of lack of medical care professionals even worse. When Drs. can't make any money, they'll change how they do business so that they can afford to stay in business. This means cutting costs - like wages, equipment, supplies, training, etc.
Same argument proffered when Medicare an Medicaid were each instituted. How many doctors do I know who mostly medicare? Plenty
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Old 08-21-2012, 02:49 PM
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Default Re: Republican Medicare plan would be a gamble

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Originally Posted by Oftencold View Post
When your bus uis headed over the cliff into the gorge, a risky turn is in order.
when he same banditos who robbed you before put a road block up and tell you there is a cliff up ahead, "Come with me", are you going to trust them?
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