[valuemkt]

The gentleman that said many regional hospitals would close if the medicare for all proposal went into effect was correct. The medicare reimbursements do not cover the cost of operations for most hospitals. They rely on what is known as "private pay", or payment from many corporate plans.
So, "free" healthcare is, of course, a misnomer. While working, one pays 1.45% of gross wages into the medicare plan .. That is without an income limit. That is separate from the 6.2% everyone pays into social security for wages up to $ 132,000 / year. If a person reaches age 65 and is still earning a handsome amount of money (perhaps through smart investments), and they want tobe covered by mediacre, which is their right, they will be further taxed, as commented above, by up to $ 500 / month for medicare and Part D (drug) coverage.

It is folly to think that a secondary system would not be developed for private pay.. with doctors and other medical personnel giving preference to those that buy into a more expensive system. The waiting lines for people needing serious care and having only "base" medicare would grow, and the law of unintended consequences would once again prevail. There would be little incentives for bright well meaning young people to pursue a medical career, because, of course, their current salaries would be looked at as outrageous, even though they devoted ten or more years after college to pursue a specialty and their passion. Oh, and if they came from a family of means, they would be addled with enormous medical school debt, while their poorer classmates got a free ride.

Those greedy drug companies ?? Why spend research and development money on a cure for cancer ? Maybe they shouldn;t have developed Lipitor, which has helped many Villagers lead a longer life .. Or a number of other specialty drugs .. The law of Unintended Consequences is very nasty .. and remember the Free Lunch Theorem .. There is no such thing as a FREE lunch

[perrjojo]

Do we like Medicare...no. For us, our employer plan was better. I guess the problem is that not everyone has a good employer plan. I really doubt Medicare for all will be better for all.

[gatorbill1]

My last employer (after changing ins. cos every year) finally cancelled everyone's healthcare and decided to give everyone a couple of hundred dollars a month. Luckily I had just turned 65 and went on Medicare. Those in their 30's did well. Those in 40's bought terrible insurance that had extremely high deductibles and those in 50's and older were left unable to buy affordable healthcare. Those that are happy with current in., might lose it at any time.
Medicare Advantage has been excellent for me, no procedure has ever been denied. Obamacare worked for my wife when she retired early, would still be working if not for Obamacare.

[Navy (SSBN 633)]

Medicare for "all" would be a disaster....The Govt cant run anything....example post office, social security...medicare...and they want to put everyone on medicare???...I dont think so!!

[Nucky]

I understand the fortunate people who had great benefits not liking Medicare. I am happy for them but so very jealous that during their working career they had the advantage over others because of a benevolent employer or collective bargaining or whatever reason extended them one of the main concerns the head of a family has for his family, decent medical coverage.

At the beginning of my career once I unloaded my own company because good benefits were killing me. I wanted badly to take care of those who gave their work-life up for me. In the middle of my career, I worked for the most honorable man that gave us benefits that were fit for a king. I will always be grateful to that man. We had some rough years medically speaking and his great coverage saved us. At the end of my career, we paid about $250 a week and had limitations that were unbelievable. My wife one son and myself were covered and the office visits covered for the year was capped at 10 visits. The deductibles were sky-high, it wasn't good.

The Villages Medicare Advantage is Heaven On Earth for us. I am grateful beyond words for the security it provides.

Whatever the candidates are speaking of at this early point in the election game is a big zero for me. They will change many times from now until the election. I think its the last 30 days before the election are the days that count the most.

I'm not for giving anything free to anyone.

[blueash]

Originally Posted by Navy (SSBN 633)

Medicare for "all" would be a disaster....The Govt cant run anything....example post office, social security...medicare...and they want to put everyone on medicare???...I dont think so!!

Is there any irony in seeing a poster whose ID is Navy saying the government can't run anything? The government runs the military and lots of people seem proud of our military. It's not perfect but it is the best in the world, right?

[Bucco]

Originally Posted by Nucky

I understand the fortunate people who had great benefits not liking Medicare. I am happy for them but so very jealous that during their working career they had the advantage over others because of a benevolent employer or collective bargaining or whatever reason extended them one of the main concerns the head of a family has for his family, decent medical coverage.

At the beginning of my career once I unloaded my own company because good benefits were killing me. I wanted badly to take care of those who gave their work-life up for me. In the middle of my career, I worked for the most honorable man that gave us benefits that were fit for a king. I will always be grateful to that man. We had some rough years medically speaking and his great coverage saved us. At the end of my career, we paid about $250 a week and had limitations that were unbelievable. My wife one son and myself were covered and the office visits covered for the year was capped at 10 visits. The deductibles were sky-high, it wasn't good.

The Villages Medicare Advantage is Heaven On Earth for us. I am grateful beyond words for the security it provides.

Whatever the candidates are speaking of at this early point in the election game is a big zero for me. They will change many times from now until the election. I think its the last 30 days before the election are the days that count the most.

I'm not for giving anything free to anyone.

If, and not sure whether you are or not, you are implying that Medicaire was free.....sorry, as a young guy used to complain about that deduction each paycheck, but now along with a Medgap policy (that I also pay for), it is working great for us anyway.

So many think that Medicaire was not paid for by the participants....and not true

[GrumpyOldMan]

Originally Posted by Navy (SSBN 633)

Medicare for "all" would be a disaster....The Govt cant run anything....example post office, social security...medicare...and they want to put everyone on medicare???...I dont think so!!

Well, sadly, I have to agree with what you said if we add the word "today". However, to put it into perspective -

1. The post office was the best in the world and many countries sent they people here etc learn how we designed and ran ours. It is the advent of email, FedEx and UPS that killed our post office and not so much the government which actually has little to do with its operation and virtually nothing to do with funding.

2. Social Security currently supports over 60 million seniors (my wife and I included) and has been self funding since the beginning. We get our checks every month on time and have never experienced any issues of any kind when working with the SS. Unlike private for profit retirement options it is GUARNTEED by the safest most reliable insurer in the world - the US GOVERNMENT. I sleep easy at night knowing my checks will be coming for the rest of my life. I am 70 and current trust fund exhaustion is predicted to happen in 2035 if NOTHING is done to fix it. At which point if I am still around I will see up to 80% of my current checks. No other retirement plan in the world can claim that security.

3. Medicare is rated by international organizations as one of the best liked socialized medical systems in the world. While not perfect it provides excellent healthcare (paid for by each of us while working) that is in general well liked by over 60 million American seniors.

4. And finally one you did not mention, the VA Healthcare system which in fact is run by the government. Other than some recent issues with overcrowding (mainly do to underfunding by the government) I can say from personal experience of both myself and my wife that it is a fantastic system. Better than any of the for profit systems available. The VA healthcare is a PURE socialized medical care system paid for out of the government general funds (not paid for by all workers like the SS and medicare) and it is operated exclusively by the government. I happen to think the proposed voucher system is the worst idea ever thought up and will destroy the VA Healthcare by converting it into a for profit system. Just look at what happened to college tuitions when the government started providing vouchers to students (guaranteeing student loans) for an example of what is going to happen to the VA.

I do not know what experience you have had with the VA health care (with a navy user name, I assume you were in the Navy), and if it was negative, I am sorry to hear that, I know some veterans have had and do have problems. No system is perfect, but it is a stunningly excellent system in the areas I have seen and used.

[Fredster]

Originally Posted by Navy (SSBN 633)

Medicare for "all" would be a disaster....The Govt cant run anything....example post office, social security...medicare...and they want to put everyone on medicare???...I dont think so!!

I totally agree, I firmly believe everyone in our country should spend some time as
part of a huge government operation such as the USPO, or any branch of the military and I think
it might give them second thoughts about having the government run and manage healthcare for all!

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Navy (SSBN 633)

Medicare for "all" would be a disaster....The Govt cant run anything....example post office, social security...medicare...and they want to put everyone on medicare???...I dont think so!!

I agree. I had a Federal job for 35 years, and the average person has no idea how much waste, incompetence, and inefficiency there is in the Government. What bothered me the most was the overstaffing just because the agency had money to spend. There were hundreds of people making over 100K per year and doing little or no work at all.

[queasy27]

Private insurance started out great in the 70s when I began working. No premiums for a single person and dental was included. Companies even offered a choice of plans! In later years I had to pay premiums which kept going up and up; same with co-pays. My last working years were chintzy, bargain basement policies.

My company folded when I was 63 and Obabacare was awesome for me; back to the days of the 70s with regard to available care, specialists, and $32/month premium. No dental, though.

I would have been very happy to stay with my BCBS plan through the Marketplace but was aged out. Given that I have a couple of chronic diseases, I should not have chosen an Advantage plan but went with the less expensive option at the time. I think I'm the unhappiest I've ever been with my current plan.

[LuvtheVillages]

Originally Posted by Northwoods

PLEASE don't make this political. I'm watching the Democratic debate on healthcare. Many want Medicare for all. I had healthcare covered by my company (large company) which included prescription drugs, vision and dental. Cost was relatively low. I'm now on Medicare. I prefer my company's healthcare! The dental was better, vision was better, and I paid less for some prescription drugs.
I'm curious... are you happier on Medicare? (Is your Medicare supplemented by a company?). Or would you prefer to be on your employer's healthcare plan?
Can we please have an intelligent, non-political discussion on this?

Some employer's plans were great, some good, and many were barely adequate. Everyone's experience is different. If your cost was low, it was because your employer paid most of it.
Once you turn 65, it doesn't matter what you had or what you would prefer. Medicare is the only game in town. Some employers may provide your supplement coverage, most don't. Learn to be happy with what you have.

[kathyspear]

Originally Posted by LuvtheVillages

Once you turn 65, it doesn't matter what you had or what you would prefer. Medicare is the only game in town. Some employers may provide your supplement coverage, most don't. Learn to be happy with what you have.

Just to clarify the above: In our case my husband's employer pays most of his premium but none of mine. If he is still working when he turns 65 I assume they will make him sign up for Medicare Part B and make his work coverage supplemental. But since they don't pay any of my premium they didn't care if I signed up for Medicare or stuck with their plan when I hit 65, so I stuck with what I had. Fingers crossed he keeps that job for a long time!

k.

[Nucky]

Originally Posted by Bucco

If, and not sure whether you are or not, you are implying that Medicaire was free.....sorry, as a young guy used to complain about that deduction each paycheck, but now along with a Medgap policy (that I also pay for), it is working great for us anyway.

So many think that Medicaire was not paid for by the participants....and not true

You are correct, you are wrong that I implied anything about FREE for me. I am a Very Proud American and believe in paying my own way and playing by the rules in all things.

Medicare has turned out to be fantastic for me. I have a very positive attitude about most things. I am grateful for the coverage and care it has provided since we landed in this beautiful place.

Sir, do you remember the day you alerted me for a spelling error? I do! I typed THE and it was supposed to be THEY. Just returning the favor because of the kindness you have shown me since you started posting again and I have been a member of TOTV'S. With all due respect.

[Chi-Town]

Company health insurance was excellent but that changed. No more PPO, now healthcare savings plans. Fine for younger healthier but a concern for the older worker. I hit Medicare just as the PPO option disappeared.

The ACA protects people with preexisting conditions. No special pool or extraneous hoops to jump. That should be of concern to all non Medicare participants.

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