Question of the Week: Which proposals aimed at strengthening Medicare do you support?
Posted by
|
August 30, 2012
Medicare was established in 1965 as a federal insurance program to provide access to health care for Americans, age 65 and older, and was later expanded to cover disabled individuals under the age of 65. In 2011, Medicare covered nearly 50 million Americans.
According to an annual report published by the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, Medicare’s hospital insurance (HI) trust fund, which covers Part A benefits such as inpatient hospital services and home health care, will be depleted by 2024. Additionally, the report estimates that Medicare spending will grow from $549.1 billion in 2011 to $1 trillion in 2021. There is bi-partisan consensus that Medicare is on an unsustainable course and reform is needed, but significant debate remains about which proposals should be implemented. Question of the week: Which proposals aimed at strengthening Medicare do you support? (multi-answer) ( ) No changes - continue providing health insurance the way Medicare does now ( ) Allow seniors to choose a plan, including the traditional plan, in which the government gives older Americans money to buy health insurance. In this system, private insurers would compete for seniors’ business on price and services. ( ) Regulate Medicare costs by an Independent Payment Advisory Board, responsible for controlling program costs whenever Medicare is projected to exceed preset budgets. ( ) Raise the eligibility age of Medicare from 65 to 67 ( ) Increase beneficiary costs from 25 to 35% ( ) Gradually limit benefits for high-income enrollees ( ) Other (share your thoughts on my blog here.) Take the poll here. Find out the results of last week’s instapoll here.
Users are solely responsible for the opinions they post here and their comments do not necessarily reflect the views of Congressman Forbes.
Post a Comment
We encourage you to analyze and comment on the posts featured on this blog, but please understand that comments which include campaign content, engage in personal attacks, or include vulgar, profane, obscene, or inappropriate language will be removed from the site. Please note that there may be a brief delay in the publication of your comment.
|
SEARCH BLOGRECENT POSTS01/07/2013 - How are we doing? (Rate Our Work)12/21/2012 - Question of the Week: In light of last week’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which of the following statements represent your views? 12/14/2012 - Protecting children from exploitation 12/05/2012 - Question of the week: Do you support the continuation of current law, which prohibits detainees from Guantanamo Bay from being transferred to prisons in the United States? 11/30/2012 - Question of the week: Given China’s growing military capabilities, do you consider China…. 11/21/2012 - A Thankgiving Prayer by Rev. Peter Marshall ARCHIVESBy YearBy Issue
|