I quite agree. But many people have been forced to pay huge sums into the Medicare system for OTHER people’s medical care, that they haven’t been able to save enough for themselves. It’s time to stop this scheme, and stop promoting the idea that everybody has a right to all the medical care they can possibly benefit from, regardless of whether they are able to pay for it. We increasingly have hard-working responsible people, who take responsibility for their own financial well-being and healthy lifestyles, forced to subsidize those who who spend most of their waking hours lounging in front of the TV stuffing themselves. This is simply unsustainable, and the longer it goes on, the uglier the end will be.
That's not always the case. Many of my friends (college students and recent graduates) almost never see the doctor or go to the hospital but have to pay insurance premiums and Medicare taxes anyways. The reality is that Medicare, like Social Security, is a generational redistribution of wealth from younger or middle-aged citizens and taxpayers to the "elderly" and "retired."
I predict massive and severe tax increases. There may be reduction in benefits, but older, retired folks will not give up on their entitlements, especially since they believe that they are simply getting back what they paid for, through taxes, and they will voluntarily damn the younger generations if they must.