Apr 10 2011
Why Ryan Is Right On Medicare
The big surprise about the Ryan plan is that the older voters and current seniors probably agree with Ryan. As Bill Kristol noted Medicare is bankrupt and ready to cut services and payments. Doctors are fleeing from it – at least the good ones.
So if you are like me, 51 years old, and faced with a choice between a higher cost, lower quality government run disaster or a lower cots, higher quality private insurance plan where I pick my solution – well it is a no brainer. I’m with Ryan. I would take a lower guaranteed premium support so I can pick my health care than an overpriced solution based on the US Post Office.
The left’s entire argument is there will be more MONEY poured into the government solution than Ryan’s. They are dumb enough to think this false indicator still fools most voters. Most voters know they can make a better choice than some faceless bureaucrat working for a cost cutting death panel in the bowels of the federal government.
This simple and immutable fact is why Ryan’s plan will be the more popular solution going forward. Don’t misunderestimate the powerful combination of low confidence in government, concern with the debts and deficits, and the opportunity to keep our money to make our own decisions.
I had dinner with a friend last night. We were talking about medicare, and she relayed a story to me. She knows of a 76 year old gentleman who needed back surgery. He went to three doctors for treatment. The first two were excellent doctors, but would not accept medicare. The third one would, and botched the surgery. He is now in constant pain.
This is the legacy awaiting those who think medicare will solve all their old-age ills. The good ones are leaving government reimbursement programs, and the not-so-good-ones are the ones left to care for the elderly.
One of my co-workers told me a year ago that his wife’s doctor has been waiting for the Medicare reimbursements for over 3 months. This doctor is forced to turn Medicare patients away.
Did you hear what Schumer said this morning? The Democrats are starting their own famous propaganda war. As I understand it, it’s the same propaganda war played back in 1996 when the welfare reform bill was passed. All of their propaganda was disproved.
The Americans need to learn to ignore their propaganda this time.
democrats still think that people only listen to the MSM, and that they control the news. That’s why they think that a lame “propaganda” war will work.
We just got a good preview the last few days. “They’re killing CHILDREN! They’re killing WOMEN! they’re killing… COWBOY POETRY, FOR GOD’S SAKE!!!”
They don’t have a clue that the more shrill they get, the more people tune them out.
The Great Big Point about the Ryan plan is that it plays well with your other insurance. It’s an approach that is all to rare in Government, with the singular exception of Federal employees’ health care – which is a subsidized choice plan.
I keep hearing these ‘stories’ about how bad medicare is, but I never hear it from someone that it actually happened to, it is always someone ‘knows this person who knows this person’ that it happened to. I am 70, my wife is 66. So far since we have been on medicare, she has had cataract surgery on both eyes, I had cataract surgery on both eyes, we both had the best recommended opthamologist in the area. He never asked about our insurance and between the supplemental and medicare we didn’t pay anything. There was never any discussion of money between us and the doctor. My wife had gall bladder surgery, same story. I had hernia surgery, same story. I have never had a single person tell me that they were refused by a doctor that ‘doesn’t accept’ medicare. Never.
That all said however, the plan that Ryan put forward seems to be, without a doubt, the very best option for future coverage. It is almost identical, as far as I can tell, with Medicare Advantage, which Barky’s plan gets rid of. It seems to insure competition between private health care insurers without the government being involved, except to pay the insurance companies.
If it evenually is up to the people to decide, they will take Ryan’s plan hands down over continued government run services.
It is amazing that people who think we cannot afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, and medication somehow think that we can afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, medication and a government bureaucracy to administer it.
– Thomas Sowell
The dems have always tried in some way to scare the seniors with the ‘Republican Threat’ to Social Security and Medicare.
Well they are the ones who are killing off Medicare Advantage and doing all sorts of other nasty stuff with the Health Care Bill. So the seniors are waking up just to who is doing what to whom.
The proposed ‘People’s Budget which was only lightly reported last week that will be the Dem response to the Ryan method includes higher Social Security Taxes on both workers and employers to fund even larger payments for Social Security.
It just is a coincidence that a recent Pew Poll shows that very group running away from support of Obama compared to in the past. Yeah nothing to see here as the Dems do another lame attempt to buy votes with taxpayers money.