I don’t know what you mean, CF. It makes perfect sense to me. 8-}
Maddow: “Throughout the Obama era, Ryan has pushed a radical budget plan that would effectively eliminate the Medicare system, phasing it out of existence and replacing it with a voucher system. Seniors, under the Speaker’s vision, would stop receiving guaranteed care under a popular and effective government-run program, and would instead receive vouchers that would help pay for coverage through private insurers.”
Does Ryan have no elderly relatives?
This sounds like converting all of Medicare to Medicare Advantage (basically, take your Medicare benefit as a voucher to buy a private plan). Obviously, this is still a government subsidy, and the universal nature of it for the 65+ population means that Medicare Advantage plans can be required to take all eligible applicants without pre-existing condition limitations (assuming that the health / sickness profile of those choosing Medicare Advantage plans is similar to those choosing traditional Medicare).
According to http://kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/medicare-advantage-2016-spotlight-enrollment-market-update/ , 17.6 million (31% of the total) Medicare recipients use Medicare Advantage plans, indicating that most (69% of the total) Medicare recipients prefer traditional Medicare. Since the 65+ population votes reliably, eliminating traditional Medicare could be dangerous ground for politicians who want to do that (and even more so if the voucher amount is reduced compared to the current subsidy for Medicare Advantage plans).
Medicare Advantage use varies widely by state, from 2% in WY to 55% in MN.
AARP used to be one of the most powerful lobbies in DC. Is that still true?
ucb, how much is that Medicare Advantage voucher? Seems to me that seniors’ insurance premiums have to be really really high. Does it cover them, or is there a gap?
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/13/us/politics/surge-in-medicare-advantage-sign-ups-confounds-expectations.html indicates that the subsidy is around $10,000 per year. This appears to be similar to the overall Medicare spending per person. Medicare Advantage plans may include additional premiums paid by the users (as does traditional Medicare).
Noname: the Prez just cannot undo a law with his pen. Thus, the ACA will be around until Congress deals with it.
Cost sharing and subsidies are also part of the law. Now, the Executive Branch does have some latitude in implementation, but negatively impacting millions of people on Day 1 (without an approved alternative from Congress) would be pretty stupid.
Yes, it will probably change, but not on Day 1 (or 2, or 3…)
I too doubt that congress would gamble with alienating the senior vote. What are the chances that the age might raise before Medicare kicks in? I’m probably counting on it too much and I’m too far away in age for it to be a safe bet.
The idea of dismantling Medicare, which is a more efficient provider of health coverage than any for-profit company, is truly, deeply, madly insane. Or nihilistic. Or both.
The constituency that put Trump in power is very largely folks who will be relying upon Medicare, or who already do. This constituency is not wealthy, and is unlikely to have substantial savings to weather any gaps in their healthcare or accept a Ryan-type plan. I’m hoping that health care costs and accessibility will improve. How, I have no earthly idea. Comments today were encouraging.
Thanks, ucb, but I’m still not clear on how it works. $10,000 a year wouldn’t even cover the insurance I have now at age 61, and it’s hard to imagine how it could cover a plan for my 92-yr-old mom. Are the Medicare Advantage plans really so cheap that $10K would pay for them?
Are we now talking the premiums or the cost per patient that the govt kicks in?
No. Like traditional Medicare (where there are premiums paid by the users, and the option for additional private “Medigap” policies to buy), the government subsidy does not cover the full cost of the plan, so Medicare Advantage users would pay additional amounts above the subsidy/voucher, depending on the type of plan.
Essentially, what it means is that, if you are 65+, you have a government subsidy and guaranteed issue, which you can either take for the public option (traditional Medicare) or use as a voucher for a private plan (Medicare Advantage). In either case, there could be additional premium costs, as well as deductibles and copayments when one uses medical services.
It seems like “privatizing Medicare” would be like removing the public option (traditional Medicare) and leaving Medicare Advantage. That might not be well liked among traditional Medicare users, and may not necessarily be that fiscally advantageous for the government (mainly in less administration of traditional Medicare payments and such).
MA can have a cost now, depending on the coverage elected.
I’ll just reiterate that Part A can be no cost, depending on how one qualifies. Part B is optional now, as are supplements. Like the supplements, Medicare Advantage covers gaps in B, plus whatever additional the particular plan offers. Costs can run from 0 on up. So my “premium” for MA is $208,including Part B and the additional perks I wanted. Not the nearly 1k some her have quoted.
Medicare spending per person is highly variable by region. So are insurance rates and ACA subsidies. If a Medicare voucher is also region-dependent, why bother? And if it’s not, it’ll be a disaster for half of seniors.
What problem does this solve that Medicare Advantage didn’t already solve?
Here is his plan. Make of it what you will.
Not sure what you mean by “this”. If you mean the proposal to “privatize Medicare” (presumably eliminate traditional Medicare and have every Medicare recipient choose a Medicare Advantage plan), then the “problem” that is solved is mainly an ideological one (i.e. “less government and more private sector”, even though the bulk of the government involvement is still there in terms of the subsidy / voucher and the guaranteed issue requirement). The practical disadvantage is that it means that every Medicare recipient would have one fewer choice (which is the most popular choice at 69% overall).
I just started a Medicare thread…in hopes that this one can be returned to ACA not politics discussions.
I will move the link I gave to new thread.
So here it is November and my insurer is changing my plan. I want to choose a new plan. But the list of providers is STILL not up on their website. It’s the proverbial pig in a poke.