house repubs want to turn medicare into a voucher program. believe it or not?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/05/opinion/...

The key question is whether the new scheme would make the same guarantee of comprehensive, affordable coverage that Medicare does. The answer would seem to be no. Princeton University economist Uwe Reinhardt, among the most respected health care experts anywhere, explained the distinction while analyzing the Ryan-Rivlin plan for the New York Times:

Under the Ryan-Rivlin plan, Medicare would be changed from the defined-benefit plan it has been since its inception to a defined contribution plan.

Under the defined-benefit plan, the government promised to procure specified medical goods and services for Medicare beneficiaries, as medical necessities assessed by the beneficiary’s physician. That puts the risk of escalating costs for that health care mainly onto the shoulders of taxpayers, although Medicare beneficiaries share in these costs through premiums for Part B of Medicare (chiefly physician services) and co-payments at the time of service.

Under the defined contributi

Medicare beneficiaries are more satisfied with their insurance coverage. Only 8 percent of elderly Medicare beneficiaries rated their insurance “fair or poor,” in contrast with 18 percent of individuals with employer-based insurance. Thirty-two percent of Medicare beneficiaries had at least one negative insurance experience, compared with 44 percent of those covered by an employer plan.

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publicatio...

obamacare cut medicare advantage which corporate welfare for insurance companies.

For example, 61 percent of Americans overall favored raising Medicare taxes to avoid a cut in benefits. The current payroll tax is 2.9 percent on wages, evenly divided between workers and their employers. The new health care law added a surcharge of 0.9 percent on earnings over $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples filing jointly.

the vouchers will not keep up with skyrocketing medical costs.

the vouchers will not keep up with skyrocketing medical costs.

the corporate media has not focused on this.

yes, they want to privatize medicare.

obamacare cut medicare advantage which is corporate welfare for insurance companies.

privatize medicare so insurance companies can get more corporate welfare.

says fix news?

some repubs said privatizing soc sec would not lead to any cuts. they lied about that too.

cbo estimates obamacare will reduce the deficit which will take pressure off of medicare and medicaid.

so save it by killing it.

same repubs want to save medicare the same way they saved iraq.

is choice in abortion a good thing?