Posted on 02/16/2018 8:04:26 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Last week, Congress passed an outline of the 2019 budget. This week, President Trump rolled out his own budget plan, which would fill in some of the spending details. While most proposals in President Trump’s newly released 2019 budget are unlikely to become law, the fiscal framework does show the White House’s priorities for government over the coming year. And those apparently don’t include support for older adults, younger people with disabilities, or their families.
For example, the Trump budget would:
* Restructure the Medicare drug benefit to reduce costs for some beneficiaries but raise them for others.
* Reduce overall Medicare spending by $236 billion over 10 years.
* Freeze most funding under the Older Americans Act.
* Eliminate key federal block grants that states use to fund programs for seniors.
* Create a new six-week family leave program, but exclude those caring for frail parents or other relatives with disabilities
* Abolish the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)
* Cut funding for Food Stamps (SNAP) and shift the benefit from a voucher to a box of home-delivered food.
Let’s take a closer look at a few of these proposals:
Medicare drug benefit. Trump has proposed eliminating cost-sharing for seniors with very high prescription drug costs, but at the same time he’d increase out-of-pocket expenses for many others, especially those who have significant costs but have not quite reached the threshold where medicine would be free ($8,418 this year).
Other Medicare changes. The budget would reduce overall spending for the program by $236 billion over 10 years. Much of the reduction would come from cutting payments to doctors, skilled nursing facilities, and other providers.
Older Americans Act and related programs. The White House would roughly freeze funding for the nation’s senior services programs, continuing a decade-long trend.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
You won’t have to worry about Medicare restructuring. It’s scheduled to go broke in 12 years.
Remember when Forbes was one of the good guys? Just more never Trumpers now.
I’m 64 and plan on “mostly” retiring in two years.
This list is a positive thing from my perspective. There is nothing on that list I plan on using.
And no, I’m not rich. Far from it. I managed my retirement by moving to an absurdly cheap state where I can live on SS if it comes to that.
My retirement plan is to not use medicare.
RE: Remember when Forbes was one of the good guys? Just more never Trumpers now.
Can we please dispense with labels and go directly to the items in this article?
“———how a widow with dementia could get the box from her doorstep to her kitchen.”
I found this quite funny-——and a bit of a stretch,
.
RE: “———how a widow with dementia could get the box from her doorstep to her kitchen.”
How will this same widow with dementia get to buy food with the food stamps?
You'll be enrolled once you begin collecting SS benefits. You can opt out and save app $120 per month, but I woudln't advise it since any pvt medical insurance you have will be relegated to secondary status (Medicare is primary).
You can opt out and save app $120 per month...
Yes. That is exactly what I plan to do.
I’ve been without health care insurance since 1/1/2014. Most of what it covers I would never need anyway. e.g. Cancer? Natural or die. No AMA approved method needed.
I had blood pressure of 162 over 102 8 years ago and they gave me some pills. I took one and threw the rest away. BTW, on a lark I took my BP a couple of years ago and it was “normal”. I’ve not seen a doctor since that last visit 8 years ago.
I take very seriously Paul’s words: To live is Christ and to die is gain.
I am in partial agreement with you. Although I do plan to seek medical treatment for some things, such as pain control for cancer, I will not be spending my chidren’s inheritance, the pittance that I have scraped together for them, on prolonging my life.
This is a fair article that reports the facts neutrally and really doesn’t take sides. I haven’t see Forbes being particularly anti-Trump.
It's not the least bit funny nor is it a stretch...apparently you've never dealt with a dementia patient...don't mock things you obviously know nothing about.
...people to receive half their benefit in the form of a box of non-perishable food delivered to their homes. Direct delivery has some appeal for older adults who may struggle to get to the store. But it raises many questions, such as how it would respond to special diets and even how a widow with dementia could get the box from her doorstep to her kitchen.
The questions raised are valid, I don't find them "funny or a stretch." There will be many more questions about how to make this work, but I see a huge entrepreneurial opportunity that would be quickly filled. The entrepreneur could do the shopping and address special dietary needs, could deliver the food, and could come into the house and even put it away for the disabled. There are always a lot of clever people eager to fill needs like this. Just look at the explosion of home food prep and delivery services today that didn't exist a few years ago. The delivery of food would be a natural extension for these services.
Thank you. Well stated.
Always have a plan b though. I did not. We retired three years ago, no debt, modest six figure savings. Social security has been more than adequate for our needs until cancer reared its ugly head. The plan of treatment will likely bankrupt us with absolutely no guarantee of cure or improvement in the quality of my life. Palliative care and hospice are looking like the best options to preserve assets and income for my wife.
I’m going to make a guess here... I’m assuming the same caregiver that picks up the food at the grocery store will be the same person that gets the food from the dementia patience doorstep.
Are you saying the woman with dementia is well enough to drive herself to a grocery store but not well enough to walk to her doorstep?
I am assuming the elderly woman has a caregiver.
until cancer reared its ugly head. The plan of treatment will likely bankrupt us with absolutely no guarantee of cure or improvement in the quality of my life.
But in the end, we welcome death. It’s inevitable. And we both embrace Paul’s words.
What is Gerson?
Good introduction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZoqqB5JhX8
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.