Fiscal Cliff, Medicare, and the GOP?

[kidkaos2]

Originally Posted by Winter_Sucks

I'm a little confused lately by the GOP. We just had an election where they accused and tried to demonize Obama for cutting Medicare by "$700 billion." They said that was a bad thing and that Obama "gutted" and "stole" from Medicare.

What I'm confused by now is that the GOP is saying that we need entitlement cuts as part of a fiscal deal. So what has changed the GOP's mind about cutting Medicare spending? I thought that meant "gutting" Medicare.

Wow, what an amazing gotcha. You sure caught the Republicans. Or not. See, there's a difference between simply diverting close to a trillion dollars away from Medicare and reforming the program. Obama did the first, Republicans want to do the second.

[hawkeye2009]

Originally Posted by Winter_Sucks

I'm a little confused lately by the GOP. We just had an election where they accused and tried to demonize Obama for cutting Medicare by "$700 billion." They said that was a bad thing and that Obama "gutted" and "stole" from Medicare.

What I'm confused by now is that the GOP is saying that we need entitlement cuts as part of a fiscal deal. So what has changed the GOP's mind about cutting Medicare spending? I thought that meant "gutting" Medicare.

Dump Obamacare and restore the money stolen from Medicare.

[Mircea]

Originally Posted by Winter_Sucks

I'm a little confused lately by the GOP. We just had an election where they accused and tried to demonize Obama for cutting Medicare by "$700 billion." They said that was a bad thing and that Obama "gutted" and "stole" from Medicare.

What I'm confused by now is that the GOP is saying that we need entitlement cuts as part of a fiscal deal. So what has changed the GOP's mind about cutting Medicare spending? I thought that meant "gutting" Medicare.

I don't know. I might ask you the same question.

Originally Posted by Winter_Sucks

So does the GOP want to cut Medicare spending or what?

I don't know. You claimed Republicans want to cut Medicare, but you didn't give a link or state any specifics, so it's hard to answer a question framed in Straw.

Originally Posted by Winter_Sucks

Read the first post. The GOP said Obama gutted Medicare, by not paying private insurance companies to do what Medicare does cheaper, and now they say Medicare should be cut.

What is so hard to understand about my question?

What question?

Who in the Republican Party is saying Medicare needs to be "gutted" and what is their plan for allegedly doing so?

Originally Posted by Winter_Sucks

Medicare spends 3% on administrative costs. Private insurance companies spend 20-30% on administrative costs.

Oooops.....

Originally Posted by Recovering Democrat

At least be honest about the “facts” you present. Medicare is NOT more efficient than private insurance. If you include the cost of ALL federal agencies required to administer Medicare it’s no less than private insurance companies.

> IRS collects the payroll taxes for Medicare;
> Social Security collects Part B premiums for Medicare;
> Department of Health provides accounting, auditing, marketing and fraud investigation;
> General Services provides office space, property management, building and more.

Plus, private insurers pay tax that is counted as an administrative cost. Medicare pays no tax.

....the RD just rained all over your little rant.

So like are you going to present any substantive material for us to examine in order to answer your question, or just continue to rant?

Not confused....

Mircea

Originally Posted by malamute

Medicare cuts hurt those who worked all their lives, paid into the system for 40-50 years. Why not an equal cut for those on Medicaid? Why is Obama going after only those who worked for a living and taking money they "invested" and redistributing that money to those who didn't pay in?

I don't see it that way.

Medicare has been pushed far beyond its original scope and intent. Because of that, I see no problem in reducing benefits to the original intent of the law.

The Medicare Trustees in their 2012 Report recommended an increase to 3.12%. That would be 0.22 points and increase the share for employer and employee to 1.71% each (from 1.49%). I don't see that as being even remotely devastating to your economy.

It is better than the alternative, which is to cut Medicare spending by 31% (in accordance with congressional mandates from previous laws which have been annually over-ridden).

That, would harm your economy at least mildly, but the I would argue that your economy shouldn't be based on 50% government spending and health care spending.

The HI Trust Fund will be exhausted here in about 6 years, unless either the HI tax is raised or the automatic cuts are allowed to stand.

Medicare must be reformed as to the services it provides. It was intended for hospitalization and doctor's visits related to hospitalization. It was never intended for the old skins to go sit in a doctor's office and chat with other patients and then chat with their doctor because they are bored or lonely or don't have any thing better to do. There's toll-free numbers they can call to chat with people for free.

And it will have to be "rationed." Common sense has to be applied. You don't do an hip replacement on an 80 year old guy who's been bed-ridden in a nursing home for 8 years. That's just a freaking waste of money. Its not like he's going to be doing the Charleston anytime soon.

Cutting...

Mircea

[BigJon3475]

You can add to your problems this:

As discussed in a short CBO report—Federal Debt and the Statutory Limit, November 2012—Treasury debt is now approaching the current limit of $16.394 trillion. As of November 27, 2012, debt subject to that limit stood at $16.279 trillion—$115 billion below the statutory ceiling. About $11.5 trillion of that debt is held by the public, and the other $4.8 trillion is held by the federal government’s trust funds and certain other government accounts.

The Treasury anticipates that borrowing will reach the current limit near the end of December 2012. However, because the Treasury can take certain “extraordinary measures” that it has used previously when borrowing reached or approached the debt limit, CBO expects that the department will be able to continue funding government activities without an increase in the debt limit until mid-February or early March.

CBO | When Is Federal Debt Likely to Reach the Statutory Limit?