Posted on 09/13/2010 5:24:06 PM PDT by Kaslin
Buried deep in the data tables of the Annual Report of the Medicare Board of Trustees last month is the authoritative documentation of the full amount of the draconian cuts to Medicare included in the ObamaCare health care takeover legislation.
Medicare's own chief actuary has already publicly reported that the Medicare payment rates for the doctors and hospitals serving seniors will be cut by 30% over the next three years. By 2019, those Medicare payment rates will be lower than under Medicaid, which leaves the poor often unable to find doctors and hospitals willing to serve them.
Medicare's chief actuary reports that ultimately, under ObamaCare, Medicare payment rates will be only one-third of what will be paid by private insurance and only half of what is paid by Medicaid.
The data buried in the Medicare Trustees report reveal that still further Medicare cuts adopted in the ObamaCare legislation add up altogether to $818 billion over the first 10 years of full implementation, and $3.223 trillion over the first 20 years, just for Medicare Part A (HI).
Counting the cuts for Medicare Part B brings the grand total in cuts to $1.048 trillion over the first 10 full years, and $4.95 trillion over the first 20 full years.
Ultimately, by the end of the projection period, Medicare Part A is cut by 60%, Part B by 43%. These draconian cuts were the basis for the CBO score repeatedly cited by President Obama that ObamaCare would actually reduce the deficit while expanding or adopting three entitlement programs. Too bad the President never disclosed that.
Such draconian Medicare cuts would create havoc and chaos in health care for seniors. Indeed, the Medicare chief actuary reports that even before these cuts, already two-thirds of hospitals are losing money on Medicare patients.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
The draconian cuts are going to have to happen if the country is to remain solvent, even if ObamaCare is repealed.
Of course, if goes without saying that we'll go bankrupt no matter what we do to Medicare if we fail to repeal ObamaCare.
Only *DRACONIAN* cuts?
Cut the whole program; both of them!
This reminds me of a sign I’ve heard of from a TEA Party rally: “Keep your government hands off my MediCare”.
Sometimes you wonder about some people.
I am only too happy to give up my Medicare ans Social Security - as soon as the government returns the money they stole from my paychecks.
ans s/b and
certainly some kind of hatred directed by this President at seniors and blind or disabled folks. how ironic that most of these folks actually legitimately paid into the system whereas medicaid recipients DON’T. i cannot believe how they are draining the trust funds too—tens of billions at a time—for other programs or social experiments.
That isn't going to happen. They used it to buy votes. The money isn't there anymore. All they have is a worthless IOU they wrote to themselves.
Can we admit the Federal government is just a massive engine of fraud and not much else, yet?
We'd probably be better off if the several states just decided to disband the federal government.
I’m wondering why-——since Democrats and their lapdog news media claim that Social Security and Medicare have trillions of dollars stashed safely in their own “trust funds”-——can there be any reason to cut their spending-—especially since Democrats claim that spending stimulates GDP growth by $1.50 for every $1 spent..?
I can think of LOTS of things to cut or taxes to raise BEFORE messing with Medicare and SS.
And I’m wondering why ANY Republican would follow Bush and try to “partially privatize” Social Security......because we already DID that, ie Individual Retirement Accounts and 401k plans.......
And they don’t look all that good right now......
Talk about changing SS right now only leads to press and Democrat demogoguery....that Republicans want to gamble the trillions from the safe SS “Trust Fund” into the stock market—which hasn’t gained in a dozen years......
I suggest allowing cancelling the IRA and 401k program to shore up Social Security-—but letting people receive what they have already in those accounts without paying any tax upon withdrawal after retirement and they can have this deal if they keep putting after-tax income into their existing accounts...... ie, just eliminate the tax subsidy....
Forget about fighting for the “Bush” tax cuts.....and make the middle class part BIGGER......
Clinton gave Bush these tax brackets:
15%, 28%, 31%, 36% and 39.6%.....can’t ANY Republicans think of a better way to cut than Bush did???? ( for example just cutting the 28% rate to 23% and extending the 15% and 23% to higher incomes and cutting out the 36% rate, but not having the top rate kick in until something the average person would consider beyond middle class income, ie over $500k...raise the standard deduction to minimum wage or above.....making payroll taxes tax deductible or creditable......ie, ideas the wonks from either party wouldn’t do....)
My dream tax code that I think the people will accept-—is to eliminate payroll taxes and the corporate income tax for consumption taxes and have a 28% flat income tax that hits the first dollar earned over $100k.......so if you make $200,000, you pay 14%-—and upward from there........
But based on what Clinton left Bush......ie the above rates and dividends taxes as regular income——I suggest the following:
1) two tax rates: 24% and 39.6%
2) high rate kicks in at $325K
3) no Medicare tax...ie Medicare paid out of general revenue
4) no business side of Social Security tax.....and SS tax rate cut to 5%—with disability and survivor’s benefits dumped onto the general fund and paid for out of general revenues and NOT the SS tax. eliminate the cap on SS tax, but
5)give a tax CREDIT against income tax liability for Social Security tax paid.....
6) standard deduction on income tax at state minimum wage, indexed for inflation.......
no child tax deductions or credits, but no marriage penalty
no charitable deduction, no IRA deductions, no refundable tax credits..no earned income tax credits....
(Oh, by the way-—Obama is raising the Medicare tax......which totally demolishes any claims to have cut middle class taxes)
When economy recovers under this code...and the unemployment rate falls to 5%-—AND IF THE BUDGET ISN’T BALANCED AT 5% UNEMPLOYMENT, then raise consumption taxes to balance——
Der Kenyan Fuhrer has a score to settle and you have pointed out one of the forms the settling will take. If he could get away with it, (and he may be able to) he'll insert low income housing right into the heart of the white middle and upper middle class. He will have been helped by the city ring suburbanites who drove to the polls in their Subarus and Volvos to elect him.
That’s complicated.
How about we tell the people the truth: The government is broke and they’ve been defrauding you and otherwise lying to you for decades.
Abolish the income tax and try freedom from government instead. Why must we be slaves to government nannies and social tinkerers forever?
Well somebody has a plan! Whether people agre with you are not, at least, there is a plan. Oh and cut spending too, drastically.
I suggest the exact opposite.
Unfortunately, they spent it long ago. Those of us approaching retirement are screwed.
My suggestions: Eliminate cash for all transactions and limit to credit card, debit card or check. Would greatly reduce robberies, drug trade and cash payments to illegal laborers; All payroll checks should be direct deposit with SS percentage remaining same for all wages and the bank would remit directly to SS from employer’s account when deposit made; eliminate all Federal taxes and replace with a 15% consumption tax paid by everyone at the time of purchase including non-profit organizations. Could have a sliding scale for big ticket items such as boats, homes, vehicles, business expansion, equipment purchase, etc. Eliminate the IRS after allowing them one year to clean up past due taxes or seize assets of those owing money. Publish the name of everyone who owes IRS including the amount they owe. Eliminate Medicare, terminate withholding of premiums. Allow everyone to enroll in any insurance carrier they desire on an individual basis with the policy belonging to the individual. Have everyone receiving SS payments re-enroll and then direct deposit all monthly checks to an account in the recipient’s name only. That way we can quit paying all the dead people. Individuals would still maintan their eligibility to draw Social Security benefits regardless of how much they earn or how much they have saved.
Wow, a lot of that is a control-freak’s dream. What a “conservative” forum. So many posters and commenters still think the government programs will work if it is just done the way they say it should be done. Reminds me of those people that say “Sure communism never worked when tried, but it just hasn’t been tried by the right people yet.”.
I'm sure you've thought a lot about your proposal. Unfortunately, IMHO it needs a lot MORE thought.A Steve Forbes "flat tax that's a tax cut" would be a vast improvement over the graduated income tax.
OTOH when you see Obamacare assaying to institute tyranny and using the IRS as the enforcer, you have second thoughts about having an IRS at all. And begin to think seriously about repeal of the 16th Amendment, and the abolition of the income tax.
I am only too happy to give up my Medicare ans Social Security - as soon as the government returns the money they stole from my paychecks.
(1) Purchase dice.
(2) Roll dice.
(3) Adjust as needed.
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