If you are over 55 or have family over 55 please read:
1. Patients Would Pay More if Romney Restores Medicare Savings!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/us/politics/costs-seen-in-romneys-medicare-savings-plan.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Mitt Romney’s promise to restore $716 billion that he says President Obama “robbed” from Medicare has some health care experts puzzled.Note: 2016 is 4 years from now! To prevent Medicare ending in 4 years more money would have to put into Medicare but from whom? Would those on Medicare have to pay more or would those not yet on Medicare pay more?
The 2010 health care law cut Medicare reimbursements to hospitals and insurers, not benefits for older Americans, by that amount over the coming decade. But repealing the savings, policy analysts say, would hasten the insolvency of Medicare by eight years — to 2016, the final year of the next presidential term, from 2024.
restoring the $716 billion in Medicare savings would increase premiums and co-payments for beneficiaries by $342 a year on average over the next decade; in 2022, the average increase would be $577.Note: restoring the $716 billion means that Medicare costs would go up by an additional $340 a year.
Beneficiaries, through their premiums and co-payments, share the cost of Medicare with the government. If Medicare’s costs increase — for instance, by raising payments to health care providers — so, too, do beneficiaries’ contributions.
And those costs would be on top of the costs involved with a full repeal of the health care law, which would eliminate expanded coverage of prescription drugs, free wellness care and preventive checkups.Note: back to the donut hole and no more free preventive checkups.
Romney is proposing to take more money from seniors in higher premiums and co-pays and hand it over to private insurance companies and other providers in the Medicare system.More references:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-fact-check-romney-medicare-cut-20121003,0,3111207.story
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/oct/03/mitt-romney/romney-says-obama-cut-716-billion-medicare/
http://www.factcheck.org/2012/08/medicares-piggy-bank/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-potus-debate-fact-check-20121004,0,5248662.story
2. Medicaid (helps seniors in nursing homes) reduced by 30%!
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82003_Page2.html#ixzz28J1trsHU
Governor Romney talked about Medicaid and how we could send it back to the states, but effectively this means a 30% cut in the primary program we help for seniors who are in nursing homes, for kids who are with disabilities.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec12/medicaid_10-01.html
Independent economists — some working largely from Paul Ryan’s budget blueprints, others examining the less specific and more recent Romney plans — have come up with similar assessments of deep, deep cuts.
Compared to Medicare, Medicaid, the nation's health insurance for low-income Americans, actually covers more people. It covers children, the disabled and the elderly. Medicaid covers 62 million Americans; covers 40% of the births in this country; covers the majority of publicly funded long-term care services."http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/30/romneys-budget-would-require-a-40-cut-to-everything-but-medicare-social-security-and-defense/
Any one of us at an advanced age really is just one fall away from a broken hip and then a spiraling out of conditions that could end you up in a nursing home or some other kind of life-altering decision.
President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney have laid out very different visions for Medicaid.
For the president, the program is a critical component of expanded coverage under the health reform law. Beginning in 2014, Medicaid would grow to cover as many as 16 million more people. Many of the new beneficiaries would include childless adults who don't qualify under current law. The federal government would spend about $440 billion more to cover these people for the first five years of the program.
Romney wants to give states a set amount of money, effectively a block grant that would be more limited than what states receive today. States would be granted more flexibility. Romney has not spelled out whether he would allow local officials to deny Medicaid to some current patients altogether or restrict health benefits they now receive. Romney also says he wouldn't have Medicaid spending keep pace with projected health care inflation. the largest cut to Medicaid that has ever been proposed, a cut that, according to one nonpartisan group, would take away health care for about 19 million Americans.
Romney promises that there will be no other changes to Social Security or Medicare for those over 55, which means neither program can be cut for the next 10 years. But once you add up Medicare, Social Security and defense and you’ve got more than half of the federal budget. So Romney is going to make the largest spending cuts in history while protecting or increasing spending on more than half of the budget.http://money.cnn.com/2012/08/13/news/economy/ryan-medicaid/index.htm
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities indulged this idea back in May. If Social Security and Medicare are spared from cuts, then to get federal spending under 20% of GDP while holding defense spending at 4% of GDP, “all other programs — including Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, education, environmental protection, transportation, and SSI — would have to be cut by an average of 40% in 2016 and 57% in 2022.
Ryan says his plan would curtail Medicaid spending by $810 billion over 10 years. In 2022, federal Medicaid funding would be about 34% less than states would receive under current law, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/medicaid/index.html
Medicaid serves 56 million (18% of the US). 77% of people enrolled in Medicaid were children and families, while 23% were elderly or disabled. But 64% of Medicaid spending was for older Americans and people with disabilities, while 36% went to children and families.http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2223
More than half of all nursing-home residents are covered by Medicaid, which pays nearly half of the nation’s total costs for long-term health care.
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ReplyDeleteI just sent in a condensed version of this to our local newspaper to be posted in its letters to the editor section. You have my permission to do the same in your local newspapers.
DeleteIt is important to let seniors know the ramifications of Romney's plans for Medicare and Medicaid.
Here is what I sent in:
Title: Romney's plans will hurt today's seniors
Romney has been saying his health care changes will not affect those over 55. But various news media sources including fact check organizations say otherwise. Read what the New England Journal of Medicine says by doing google on "NEJM health care under Romney".
First, regarding Medicare, Romney promises to return the $716 billion in Medicare savings obtained by reducing payments to insurers and hospitals under the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). However, this will result in seniors seeing a $340 yearly increase on average in premiums and co-payments! This is because when Medicare’s costs increase - by raising payments to health care providers - so, too, do beneficiaries’ contributions as they are linked. Further, returning to a higher payment rate to insurers and hospitals will hasten the insolvency of Medicare Part A by eight years — to 2016 from 2024. How would Romney keep it solvent? Would those on Medicare have to pay more or would those not yet on Medicare pay more?
Also, a repeal of the ObamaCare would eliminate expanded coverage of prescription drugs, free annual wellness visits and free preventive services for those under Medicare currently.
Second, Romney has talked about 30% cuts in federal funding for Medicaid. Currently more than half of all nursing-home residents are covered by Medicaid, which pays nearly half of the nation’s total costs for long-term health care. 64% of Medicaid spending is for older Americans and people with disabilities (while 36% goes to children and families). If Medicaid funding is cut by a third and the cuts spread out uniformly, what will happen to 1/3 of the millions of elderly currently in nursing homes?
Seniors need to look carefully into Romney's plans for Medicare and Medicaid as it will indeed affect them!
My letter to the editor was published yesterday in the Daily Herald!
Deletehttp://www.dailyherald.com/article/20121018/discuss/710189736/
I sent the following modified version to the Chicago Sun-Times. I added an additional point at the end.
DeleteTitle: Seniors - the Romney plan will affect you!
Contrary to what Romney is saying, his health care changes will negatively affect those over 55. Many of these points are discussed in a New England Journal of Medicine article (Google on "NEJM health care under Romney").
First, regarding Medicare, Romney promises to return the $716 billion in Medicare savings obtained by reducing payments to insurers and hospitals under the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). However, this will result in seniors seeing a $340 yearly increase on average in premiums and co-payments! This is because when Medicare’s costs increase - by raising payments to health care providers - so, too, do beneficiaries’ contributions as they are linked. Further, returning to a higher payment rate to insurers and hospitals will hasten the insolvency of Medicare Part A by eight years — to 2016 from 2024. How would Romney keep it solvent? Would those on Medicare have to pay more or would those not yet on Medicare pay more?
Also, a repeal of the ObamaCare would eliminate expanded coverage of prescription drugs, free annual wellness visits and free preventive services for those under Medicare currently.
Second, Romney has talked about 30% cuts in federal funding for Medicaid. Currently more than half of all nursing-home residents are covered by Medicaid, which pays nearly half of the nation’s total costs for long-term health care. 64% of Medicaid spending is for older Americans and people with disabilities (while 36% goes to children and families). If Medicaid funding is cut by a third and the cuts spread out uniformly, what will happen to the millions of elderly currently in nursing homes?
Finally, in the future as those under 55 today move into private insurance plans with vouchers from Medicare, this will take funding away from traditional Medicare which must still support those over 55 today seniors. Those seniors will be needing even more care as they get older but may find Medicare has less ability to pay the bills.
Here is new study that shows under Romney's plan Medicaid would drop coverage for 14.3 million people (alongside the 17 million reduction from repealing the Medicaid expansion).
DeleteThat is 31 million people! Population of the US is 311 million. So that is 1 in 10 people!
Do people care about the elderly, disabled and poor children any more?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/23/study-romney-like-plan-cuts-1-7-trillion-in-medicaid/?wprss=rss_ezra-klein&wpisrc=nl_wonk