Beyond Medicare
 

During the current discussions on how to reduce the Federal budget, the subject of Medicare has come up repeatedly. Everyone seems to realize that the cost of Medicare needs to come down. Some try to look at Medicare and Medicaid together. But Medicare and Medicaid are not the only Federal government health care programs. There are the civil service health care programs, the Postal workers health care program, the VA health care program, tri-care, etc. Each of these has its own bureaucracy, paperwork, provider screening systems, etc.

What needs to be done is to look at ALL the Federal government health care delivery systems and consolidate them into one with only one uniform system of health care delivery. The cost efficiencies are obvious, but will be met with pushbacks from each of the agencies claiming they are different, they are more cost effective, the people they serve have unique needs and so on and so forth. These excuses are just so much BS.

The civil service system has coverage throughout all fifty states as well as Puerto Rico and the Territories and would be the logical agency to take on this task. People would have the option of how much health care coverage they want just as the people in civil service do today. The baseline program could be provided at little or no cost to today’s recipients of Medicare, Medicaid and VA treatment. If you wanted a more inclusive program, you pay the additional premium. No one gets left out, no one loses their coverage when they move and the insurance companies cannot drop an individual.

Okay, and please include the Congressional healthcare programs.

Then consider Rep. Weiner resigns and keeps his membership in House Gym for life along with a pension reported to be worth millions after serving how many years in Congress? Oh sorry I forgot, they are not like the rest of us, they're special people. Just ask them. That's why they set rules for us that don't apply to them.

Use the ballot box to enact term limits. Eventually they may catch on to the fact that the rest of us are not too happy with them special folks.

Hancle, to quote from the musical "Man of La Mancha" I suspect you of 'Dreaming the Impossible Dream'. Our ruling class will never voluntarily surrender their privileges and perks. Let’s start with our millions and millions of peasants, people like you and me who have to deal in reality in the real world, not the delusions that exist inside the beltway.

BBQMan,

Your idea of healthcare is 100% correct. My wife and I are Federal retirees and we both said the same thing when healthcare was being debated in Congress. The civil service health care plan is excellent and could be provided to everyone at little cost to them. Excellent posting of yours!