Let’s be honest. Seniors would have a very difficult time finding health insurance if there was no Medicare. After all the age group of 65 plus are the group most likely to need health care. Just go to any medical center and you see far more seniors there than any other age group. I doubt that will change in 2022.
Still there must be some money to be made because every year I receive solicitations from every provider trying to encourage my enrollment in their plan.
The solution is non-profit health care for everyone. Call it socialized medicine if you wish but the wealthiest nation in the world provides limited health care for its poorest citizens while other industrialized countries provide health care for every citizen.
Key points of the GOP plan as summarized in the Los Angeles Times. The primary focus of savings is health care. There is no cap on the fees that health insurance providers charge.
Overall savings: Would provide about $6 trillion more in savings than the president’s budget over the next 10 years.
Medicare: In 2022, Medicare would become a “premium support program,” ending open-ended payment of doctor bills and health costs for seniors. The· government would begin paying a set amount of money to insurers. Beneficiaries would select from a list of subsidized health plans. People now 55 or older would remain in the current Medicare plan.
Medicaid: The program would be turned over to the states using a block-grant system, and $771 billion would be cut from Medicaid over the next decade.
Taxes: Individual and corporate top rates would be reduced from the current 35% to 25%. Tax loopholes would be closed and tax brackets consolidated.
Health insurance: Would do away with the president’s healthcare law and provide a refundable tax credit – $2,300 for individuals and $5,700 for families – that would allow individuals to buy coverage in any state, as well as portability.
Budget process: Would establish an overall spending limit as a percentage of the gross domestic product and require the president’s budget and the Congressional Budget Office to make annual projections.
Sources: Reuters, Rep. Paul D. Ryan
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