There is a behind the scenes fight going on between Democrats and Republicans over language Democrats have put into official mail going out to their constituents.  The fight is over the GOP plan to end Medicare as we know it.  Today, the government is the single payer of medical bills for our retired citizens.  Under the GOP plan, seniors would need to buy insurance from a private company.  They would get a voucher that they could use to offset the cost of the premiums.  This would be a huge change to the program.  I think it’s fair to say that it is such a huge change that the program under the GOP plan is not Medicare, but something altogether different.  

Now, in the fight between the Dems and the GOP, the GOP says the Dems can’t use the phrase “eliminate Medicare as we know it and replace it with a privatized system”.

In my mind, the GOP’s attempt to make people believe that their budget proposal saves Medicare when in fact it ends it is like saying this Van Halen and this Van Halen are the same.  Perhaps in name, but to a seeing, hearing person, they are nowhere the same.

An update on the Unaffordable System

Here are some macro numbers to add some weight to the premise of my previous post about the United States' healthcare problem being more about the system for how it is delivered and paid for.  If you only look at the charts and don't read the actual article, remember that the figures for total governament spending in places like England and Canada covers ALL the citizens whereas in the US governament spending only covers Medicare, Medicaid, and VA.

Follow the link and check out the story and figures.

The Unaffordable System

The country can no longer afford to pay for retired persons’ healthcare insurance. 

This is what we are being told.  The GOP’s budget that was passed in the House looks to change the system of Medicare.  It changes it in that it eliminates it.  Today, the government collects taxes (think of these as premiums) and then acts as the single insurance company to pay for all claims for services doctors and hospitals provide to retired persons.  There is an agreement between the government and the public about what services will be covered.  There is an agreement between the government and the providers about how much will be paid for each service.

The problem is that the cost of medical care is going up faster than the premiums that must pay for it.  

The GOP’s plan to solve this problem is to turn the insurance responsibility over to private companies, provide a subsidy to them for part of the premiums, and cap the level of the subsidy to rise only with the overall level of inflation.

Now, there are two big problems with this approach.  1) The inflation on medical care is rising far faster than the overall inflation rate.  2) Whereas today the government puts nearly ever premium dollar towards paying claims, private insurers will have far greater overhead – today this overhead averages about 30%.  This means that 30 cents of every 1 dollar will not pay for actual care, but instead pay for marketing, profit, and other non-care related items.

The GOP plan does nothing to control the cost of medical care for seniors.  It only controls the government’s cost by shifting the additional expenses to seniors who will pay it in ever rising premiums to private insurers.

The real solution to the high cost of medical care is to change the system by which medical care is delivered, not the system by which it is paid for.  Our country must change the way in which private enterprise operates in the delivery of medical services. 

You see, we get to decide the way the medical system is organized and operates in the US.  When the system does not operate in a way that servers the citizens of our country, it is our responsible and right to change it.  Nowhere is it required that we allow 30% of every dollar to go to profits, marketing, and other overhead in the private sector when it is not in the best interests of our entire population.  The answer to the affordability of medical care for seniors, and everyone else, is not to make each person pay more, it is to change the rules of the game, and the way the game is played to remove unneeded costs.

You see, the unaffordable system is not Medicare, it is the healthcare delivery system itself.  There is no place for profit in it and it should be removed.

GOP endorses Obamacare for America's Seniors!

  For all those who want to see the repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)- by you AKA Obamacare, do you realize that this is exactly what the GOP budget bill just passed in the House yesterday calls for for America's senior citizens. Do you realize that when you retire, you won't be part of a company's group healthcare insurance plan. Do you realize that Medicare, the single-payer (the Federal Gov't) plan that all retired Americans use as health insurance is eliminated under the GOP House budget passed yesterday. It calls for retired people to get a coupon (a subsidy) to buy individual insurance in the private maket - this is exactly what the PPACA does for working age people not covered by an employer group health insurance plan.
　
How can you be against Obamacare and support the House GOP budget plan?

What's in the heart of the GOP?

  The GOP is a very serious political party that is all about budget discipline, they tell you.  The current fight in the Congress is a war over spending because our country is broke, they lead you to believe.  Any you might believe the GOP if your attention span is no longer then your finger nail.

   If you’re actually paying attention you know the GOP is not serious about this.  The GOP that is controlled by moneyed interests like the Koch brothers and the Chamber of Commerce is out to destroy the social safety net that was built as our nation prospered through the industrial revolution.  You see, the GOP does not subscribe to the notion that it takes a village.  They align to the every man for himself motto.  This is, after all, the way a business is run, and the GOP wants the government run like a business.  This motto holds in their minds whether that man is 21 or 81, employed or unemployed, healthy or sick.   Their fight against the true middle class can be seen in their move to privatize social security that they have been against since its inception, and took new life under President Bush.  It continues today when the GOP talks about the need for entitlement reform and groups Social Security into it.  It is seen in their efforts in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and New Jersey to destroy worker’s unions.   Their bidding for the corporations and the wealthy elite was thrown into wide open view in their proposed 2012 budget that eliminates Medicare to retired senior citizens.  

  The biggest clue to what the GOP is all about is in broad daylight today as the budget talks are at the end-game.  There are agreements between the political parties about the dollar level of the budget, but no agreement seems likely.  This is because the GOP, the very serious political party that is all about budget discipline is actually all about social issues.  An agreement on a budget to keep soldiers paid, social security checks going out in the mail, and endless numbers of needed services functioning, is being held up because the GOP is now demanding that the EPA not enforce clean air laws, and women not have access to reproductive health care.  The true colors of the very serious people of GOP shinning through!

The Big Lie!

  The budget deficit that seems to be important except for when $750 billion of temporary tax cut were to expire at the end of 2010, is becoming important again.  What you can be sure of, because it is fact, is that exactly $0 of the current deficit is the result of Social Security.  The exact opposite is true.  If not for Congress adding the Social Security Trust Fund into the budget, the actual deficit would be worse.  The worst recession since the Great Depression, 2 unfunded wars, 2 unfunded tax cuts, and an unfunded Medicare Drug benefit, blew a giant hole in the budget.  The stimulus, which was needed, added to the deficit as well. 

  Social Security is not part of the problem.  Current projections show Social Security to be 100% solvent for the next 30 years without making a single change.  Somehow the term "entitlements" has become the catch phrase that encompasses Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.  Social Security is not an "entitlement", but rather a defined benefit that is earned through payment into the system.  Everyone who pays into Social Security receives a  Social Security Statement.  The statement shows exactly how much has been paid in and how much is earned.  As the name of this long-standing and extremely successful program says, it is all about the security of our society. 

  On the other hand, what we should be concerned about, and demand action on, is the cost of medical care.  Our system is broken.  When 30% of every dollar is used to pay the overhead of insurance companies (including their profits), we are wasting dollars that could pay for actual care.  The explosion in the cost to provide medical care to our retired and poor population is a cause for concern, but the state of Social Security in 30, 40, or 50 years from now is not a concern when looking at the current budget deficit.  Anybody who tells you it is, is part of The Big Lie.