[Boomer]

I hope this thread stands because there are so many of us here on Medicare -- and we need to know what this is about. Village Tinker is the OP. That should make this thread worth our attention. VT is known for his credibility and helpfulness. VT is not a pot-stirrer. He is trying to get the word out on this, although it could well be too late. We need to be aware of any potential changes to Medicare. Medicare is government, and government is political, so there is no way around it. But I have to speak up on this one. It’s our Medicare we’re talking about.

(Dear Moderators: There will be those among us who will try to get this thread closed on the technicality that it is political -- because it will be extremely difficult for many in TV to face the fact that this thing was set up by the previous administration. Therefore, I predict there will be attempts by some posters to shut down this discussion -- either by getting rude or by complaining to the moderators. Or maybe the thread will just fade out naturally because it could be that the silence will be deafening -- from those who "believed.")

The Plot (er, Plan) to Privatize Medicare:

Remember? It was October 3, 2019. The man himself was in The Villages, at the Sharon, to give a speech, to put on a show, for the biggest group of seniors that couild be gathered in one spot anywhere. Right here in TV.

After his speech, the executive order was signed -- with a great flourish -- playing to that adoring audience who felt so honored by the visit and especially by getting to see that order "to protect and improve Medicare" signed right in front of them.

That order was titled "Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation's Seniors." (Executive Order 13890) What could possibly go wrong? Right?

And the crowd cheered and swooned in their devotion and loyalty.

That situation was a classic, dark illustration of irony -- or a nod to Shakespeare -- because right here, at the Sharon, seniors in that audience were being "hoist by their own petard" -- they had put the power behind what they were seeing in front of them -- selling them out. (This time it was a time-bomb so it took a while -- a couple of years. Now, here we are, wondering what hit us, or is about to, and if we can do anything about it.)

I knew at the time the order was signed that something was up and it possibly could be the step to the privatization of Medicare. More lining of pockets on the backs of seniors.

What made it so easy was the fear that had been so effectively fanned by throwing around that "Medicare for All" routine. That high profile phrase, being chanted and pounded constantly, was scaring and angering some people — while ironically providing the perfect cover to try to sneak privatization in the back door.

As the plot thickens, it looks like our choice of the type of plan we want -- how much control we choose to turn over to a corporation -- could be taken completely out of our hands. (Adoring fans or not.) I sure hope I am wrong.

You can Google the title of that order, "Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation's Seniors," and find it on federalregister.gov where you can read it in its entirety. . .read it and weep.

Seniors were being had on that day, two years ago, in October, in The Villages -- hook, line, and sinker. . .What a show it must have been.

Yours truly,
Cassandra Boomer (Medicare Primary, Plan F Supplement, by choice. . .but for how long?)