Debating Medicare

The future of Medicare is a big part of this year’s elections. You’re going to hear a lot of sound bites and arguments about Medicare and various proposals to change it. I think it’s important to do research yourself before hearing the incomplete and sometimes distorted comments in the media. Here are a few facts you should know about Republican Vice President nominee-designate Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform plan. It would not affect anyone who is age 55 or older today, if the law were enacted today. Since it’s not likely to be enacted for another year or two under any scenario, people 54 or 53 and older won’t be affected by any changes. The proposal also would not take traditional Medicare away from younger people. Instead, they would have a choice between enrolling in traditional Medicare or receiving a voucher from the government equal to the amount the government spends on average for a Medicare beneficiary to purchase private insurance.

I’m not objective. I’ve been studying Medicare for a long time and believe Ryan’s latest plan is a good one. It can be improved in different ways, but that’s not important at this point. The important facts to keep in mind are that Medicare as presently constructed is dying. Changes have to be made, and the question is which changes should be made. For those who are interested,  I’ve collected some other posts on the web here, here, here, and here that I think present the facts and issues well.