Medicare as a Metaphor

Congressman Paul Ryan's choice as Romney's vice-presidential pick quickly ignited Medicare as a metaphor for American social policy. In other words, Medicare has morphed from a government insurance program, primarily for senior citizens, into a social concept. Do we want to take care of our nation's middle class, poor, disabled, children and veterans, or not? Medicare symbolizes all of the above.

Ryan's VP pick has unequivocally opened this long simmering national debate. His self named "plan" to reduce the nation's deficit by cutting spending (without raising revenue) was just another dusty Congressional document until Ryan's pick by Romney launched the "Ryan Plan" into the national spotlight. 

Now, there's a real risk that a Romney-Ryan administration will change progressive social policies like Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, Veteran's benefits, Planned Parenthood, Head Start, student loans and so forth.

Does the Ryan Plan really propose to cut these and other important programs? Obviously, I'm not sure because I certainly haven't read the document. But, changing Medicare is a central component of the Ryan Plan. What he proposes is for Medicare to morph into a voucher system. It's terrible public policy. But, a Voucher system is a cash cow for private insurance companies that will sell confusing products.

It's unclear if the Vouchers will include the Medicare Part D drug benefit. It's unclear how the Voucher products will cover physician specialty care. It's just unclear about how much money a Voucher program will cut or cost.

A Medicare Voucher system is a metaphor for all the social safety net programs, passed by Congress with rigorous public vetting over the past 80 years, since the FDR singing of the Social Security law.http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2004/site_packages/ss_privatization/3150fdrs_soc_sec.html

Because the Ryan Voucher proposal is flawed, all other proposals in his plan are tainted. It's just like your mother said, "Watch the company you keep'.  If Medicare is cut, so, it probably goes, for all the other social safety net programs. 

What's most alarming about the Medicare Metaphor is the complete lack of data to support regressive social policies. Instead of cutting social programs, our nation should be focused on improving our nation's quality of life. For example, our nation's infant mortality rate is 34th in the world, where Singapore and Iceland are among the best. (Infant mortality is often used as an indicator of the level of health in a country.) 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_infant_mortality_rate

Our nation's educational outcomes are outpaced by other countries in reading, science and math. 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/dec/07/world-education-rankings-maths-science-reading

In fact, US life expectancy is 38th in the world, while Japan is first.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

Meanwhile, the US tax rates are lower than most highly developed. countries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_rates

Polls indicate presidential candidate Romney didn't get the political "bump" he hoped for from his selection of Paul Ryan as a running mate.  The lackluster roll out of his VP pick has the probably unintended consequence of putting Romney's vision for the nation's future into the spotlight.  If Romney's vision for the future includes imposing the "Ryan Budget" on us, then, at least, his choice created a clear understanding of why he should not become our President.  

Medicare is a metaphor for the concept of caring.  

Romney flubbed up on the Ryan roll out. He wasn't prepared for questions about how the Ryan Budget impacts the struggling middle class.  My suggestion is for Romney-Ryan to completely rethink their political strategy and embrace both Medicare the program and the metaphor it represents about a nation of caring people.

Medicare Vouchers Are Cash Cows for Insurance Companies

Congressman Paul Ryan surely must receive sizable campaign contributions from insurance companies, because they're the only beneficiaries to gain under a Medicare Voucher system.

My opinion, as a nurse and former administrator of a Medicare Certified home care and hospice agency, is that any plan to privatize Medicare will cause confusion among beneficiaries and open the program to fraudulent insurance providers.

Most Americans, meaning a majority of those who already pay into Medicare, don't know how the program already works. Introducing a new concept, like the Ryan "Medicare Voucher" into the payment mix, is proverbially fixing something that isn't broken.

If people are being scared into worrying about Medicare's solvency, the solution is to adjust the premiums paid and the utilization of services provided. In other words, increase the revenues and manage the costs at the provider end of care. It's just like other health insurance plans, with one difference being the federal government guarantees the providers against non-payment for services.

Medicare is not free. It's not socialized medicine. Medicare recipients pay premiums and co-pays, while coverage is provided without regard for preexisting conditions. But, it's not free.

Who benefits from a Medicare Voucher system are insurance companies. They will be authorized to compete for beneficiaries by selling confusing voucher products. Medicare Vouchers risk attracting unscrupulous insurers, who will undoubtedly figure out how to game the system. Today's Medicare beneficiaries can turn to experts at their Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) or to the Medicare Ombudsman program for benefit answers. But, figuring out the various benefits offered by the growth in voucher insurance plans, tailored to an aging population, will take a totally new layer of experts to advocate as navigators for the beneficiaries.

A Medicare Voucher system will become a private insurance program where premiums will increase private company profit margins. These margins will come at the expense of providers of care and beneficiary coverage.

Why don't Americans know this? Because, big money in premiums keeps insurance companies in business and, to insure this survival, lobbyists provide plenty of contributions to politicians, like Congressman Ryan.

Insurance companies don't want Americans to know how Medicare really works because it's in their best interest to create public confusion, just like they'll do with potential vouchers. In confusion, only the insurers, who will benefit from sales of vouchers, will gain.

A Medicare Voucher system is a cash cow for insurance companies. Congressman Paul Ryan's plan for privatizing Medicare is another example of how Republicans put corporate greed before the best interests of the American people.

American voters cannot allow Republican regressive social policies, like privatizing Medicare, cutting Medicaid and Social Security, to push our nation's progressive safety nets back into the dark ages.

It's time Americans learn how Medicare really works, before changing it to something else, just so private insurance companies can sell more products.