The first debate of the 2012 Presidential Election is over. It is vital that everyone become an informed voter, and understand exactly how each candidate stands on important issues. Here is some information to help you understand what Obama and Romney plan to do with Medicare.
As we get closer to the election, you are going to hear a whole lot of misinformation about exactly what each candidate is intending to do. This is the Insurance blog, so I am going to focus on what the Romney/Ryan plan is for Medicare. (Another blog will have information about the Obama/Biden plan for Medicare).
Mitt Romney became eligible for Medicare in March of 2012. He chose not to sign up for the program. His running mate, Paul Ryan, is 42 years old and is not yet eligible for Medicare.
Under the Romney/Ryan plan, “nothing changes for current seniors or those nearing retirement”. Everyone else can expect changes between what is called “Traditional Medicare” on the Romney website, and what they will have access to when they become old enough for Medicare eligibility.
The Romney/Ryan plan will offer a “premium support system”, (otherwise known as a “voucher”). Seniors can use the voucher to pay for a Medicare-like health insurance plan. On the Romney website, it is worded:
“’Traditional’ fee-for-service Medicare will be offered by the government as an insurance plan, meaning that seniors can purchase that form of coverage if they prefer it; however, if it costs the government more to provide that service than it costs private plans to offer their versions, then the premiums charged by the government will be higher and seniors will have to pay the difference to enroll in the traditional Medicare option.”
According to the Romney website, this plan will allow seniors to have “the freedom to choose what their coverage under Medicare should look like.” It also says: “Seniors will be allowed to keep the savings from less expensive options or choose to pay for more costlier plans”.
It also says “Lower income seniors will receive more generous support to ensure they can afford coverage”. A question on the website asks “How high will premium support be?” The answer is: “Mitt continues to work on refining the details of his plan.”
Critics of the Romney/Ryan plan for Medicare note that this idea will turn Medicare into a private system and leave seniors at the mercy of insurance companies. Others note that the voucher system would not necessarily keep up with health care inflation. The result could be that seniors will receive a voucher that will be insufficient to pay for health insurance coverage that includes everything that the current Medicare system currently covers.
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