Medicare, Medicaid in dire financial states (So - you think Sosha Security stinks?)

Bradenton Herald ^ | 1/13/05 | TONY PUGH

[Libloather]

WASHINGTON - Social Security may top the Bush administration's domestic agenda, but Medicare's financial problems are more dire and Medicaid's are more immediate.

The Medicare trust fund, which pays inpatient hospital costs and short-term nursing-home stays for the program's nearly 42 million seniors, is slated to become insolvent in 2019, more than 20 years before both of Social Security's insolvency date estimates.

[Libloather]

My neighbor fell off his roof. He's been in intensive care for over ten weeks now. Time to kick him out - Medicare doesn't cover much else.

His wife is now shopping for anyone who has life support mechanisms. And Unca Teddy wants WHAT - for all? Maybe Unca Teddy has a few pennies left over for this poor sap. Probably not...

[Terpfen]

"The Medicare trust fund, which pays inpatient hospital costs and short-term nursing-home stays for the program's nearly 42 million seniors, is slated to become insolvent in 2019, more than 20 years before both of Social Security's insolvency date estimates."

Bzzt. Wrong. The problem starts in a few years. Someone needs to read Luskin.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

[The Medicare trust fund, which pays inpatient hospital costs and short-term nursing-home stays for the program's nearly 42 million seniors, is slated to become insolvent in 2019, more than 20 years before both of Social Security's insolvency date.}

Well, at least Bush got the prescription drug benefit in before the system goes fully bankrupt. Probably scored him some points anyway.

[Gunslingr3]

It's fun how the Democrats pretend the problem doesn't start when we begin tapping a non-existent trust fund, but instead when we run out of the IOU's in the non-existent trust fund.

Maybe it someone replaces the cash in Teddy's bank accounts with IOU slips and he can't buy a drink with them he'll figure it out.

[Gunslingr3]

Well, at least Bush got the prescription drug benefit in before the system goes fully bankrupt. Probably scored him some points anyway.

Certainly helped speed up the process by deliberately understating the costs to get it sold to Congress. 'Course the Dems just called it a giveaway to drug companies (ignoring that it's another giveaway to the elderly), so I don't see what positive came of it for Bush or the Republicans.

[Jack Black]

Can you suggest the book or article to start with to familiarize self with "Lusken". Thx.

[Terpfen]

No need for a book. Check out his website. Updated usually every evening. It's also the home of the Krugman Truth Squad.