Posted on 10/20/2012 9:36:14 AM PDT by NYer
(CNSNews.com) - The combined number of people enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare--the government health-care programs for the poor, disabled and elderly--now exceeds the number of full-time private sector workers in the United States.
In 2011, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), there were 70.4 million people who enrolled in Medicaid for at least one month. There were also 48.849 million people enrolled in Medicare. That gave Medicaid and Medicare a gross combined enrollment of 119.249 million in 2011.
At the same time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 112,556,000 people worked full-time in the United States in 2011. Of these 112,556,000 full-time workers, 17,806,000 worked for government (at the federal, state or local level) and 94,750,000 worked for the private sector.
The gross combined enrollment of 119.249 million in Medicaid and Medicare in 2011 outnumbered the 112.556 million full-time workers employed in both the private sector and in government in 2011.
However, there are a certain number of people each year—called “dual enrollees” by CMS—who enroll in both Medicaid and Medicare because they are eligible for both. According to CMS, however, the most recently developed data for the actual number of “dual enrollees” is for 2008--when a total of 61.9 million people were enrolled in Medicaid and 9.3 million of them were “dual enrollees” who also enrolled in Medicare.
“In total, there were about 9.3 million duals in 2008,” said a CMS study published this year. “They represented 15 percent of the 61.9 million Medicaid enrollees and 21 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries that year.”
If the percentage of Medicaid-Medicare "dual enrollees" remained constant at 15 percent from 2008 to 2011, there would have been about 10.56 dual enrollees in 2011 (15 percent of 70.4 million). Subtracting 10.56 million dual enrollees from the 119.249 million gross combined enrollment in Medicaid and Medicare in 2011 leaves a net of about 108.689 individuals enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare or both.
That is 13.939 million more than the 94.75 million people who worked full-time in the private sector in the United States in to 2011.
Back in 2008, the combined number of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees did not exceed the overall number of full-time workers or the number of private sector full-time workers, according to the data published by CMS and BLS. That year there were 61.9 million Medicaid enrollees and 45.4 million Medicare enrollees for an overall combined enrollment of 107.3 million. Subracting the known 9.3 million dual enrollees for that year leaves 98 million individuals who were getting Medicaid, Medicare or both in 2008.
But in 2008, there were 120.030 million full-time workers in the United States, including 18.528 million who worked for government and 101.502 million who worked for the private sector.
The 120.030 million full-time workers overall in 2008 and the 101.502 million full-time private sector workers that year both outnumbered the 98 million persons on Medicaid, Medicare or both.
Don’t worry, Ben Bernanke can keep printing the $1 Trillion or so needed annually to pay for this.
As more and more boomers move onto Medicare, this change will become permanent.
This is so typical of a pyramid scheme. Had the US population continued to grow, and the monies not allocated to other programs, we would be in fine shape. That would require foresight, something the government rarely uses.
Will the last person working keep holding up this economic charade ala Atlas holding up the world on his shoulders?
If they kept Medicaid totally separate...and disability totally separate, we might be able to control this mess.
Seventy million on medicaid are obama voters
Unbelievable. No doubt at least1/3 is bogus. When did America become so full of panty-wastes?
And all those aborted babies that would have lived & contributed in so many ways.
Bit of a false comparison since it is possible to be in the workforce and be on either or both of these programs. Also anyone who reaches 65 is automatically put on Medicare.
The "Dual Eligibles" will not be allowed to keep their Medicare as is. They will be pushed into integrated, managed care system.
The seniors are being lied to about being able to keep their Original Medicare IF they also qualify for TennCare (Medicaid). Look up the proposal: "State Demonstrations to Integrate Care for Dual Eligibles Demonstration Proposal Tennessee"
Also does not account for the fact that our operating and admin budgets have been cut by almost 30%, and that has prevented CMS from doing basic investigations into simple fraud, waste, and abuse. So a large percentage of that enrollment data does not account for deceased or non-disabled or non-impoverished enrollees sucking the system dry.
What exactly are they lying about?
Also don’t forget that all public sector employees are paid exclusivey by the private sector.
unfortunately, private sector wages can’t keep up if inflation hits bad.....those govt workers though, they got it made...
Those 45M abortions since Roe Vs Wade do come back to haunt don’t they.
You bet, Al. And consider its impact on Social Security. To compound the matter, while boomers were paying into the program, it swelled in anticipation of precisely this moment in time, when they would be able to retire with the assurance of those monies they had paid. But government had other plans. They decided to apportion some of those funds to the disabled. Fine ... but take a look at who qualifies as disabled. A recently retired friend went to the local Social Security Office and discovered he was the oldest person in the room. Today just about anyone can qualify for SSDI and, if turned away, there are plenty of lawyers who make a living by getting them on the program.
Sorry to take so long is responding. Obama, Reid, and Pelosi kept telling the public that folks could keep their own insurance plans and doctors if they desired. The Tennessee Proposal is fallout from Obamacare. Seniors on Original Medicare and TennCare will be moved to a managed care hybrid. They won’t be allowed to keep Original Medicare (non-managed care).
Thanks. I downloaded it but only skimmed the first couple of pages. Hopefully later.
Other states are moving to these demonstration models of care in order to cut costs without affecting access or maintenance of effort. It’s not because they are trying to be so innovative, but because they are just trying to survive Obamacare. We have approved a few of the programs but with great reservations and for limited periods of time. Here’s hoping that with a new administration we can reverse those provisions and assist the states in providing reasonable programs within normal limits.
Unfortunately it may be too late.
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