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Title : Means Testing For Medicare--It's Unavoidable If Politically Problematic

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Means Testing For Medicare--It's Unavoidable If Politically Problematic

Means testing is politically problematic but necessary together with in all likelihood unavoidable if nosotros are to shore-up Medicare.

The Bush direction is pushing a proposal to laid about way testing on the novel Medicare Part D drug benefit. They would increase deductibles together with premiums on unmarried seniors amongst incomes over $82,000 a twelvemonth together with couples amongst incomes over $164,000 a year.

We already get got a way exam on Medicare Part B premiums (the share that pays medico costs together with other outpatient care).

The Bush administration would also freeze the thresholds at these levels instead of letting them ascent amongst inflation--or indexing them--as is the illustration amongst Part B now.

Imposing these thresholds on Part D together with freezing them at the $82,000/$164,000 degree for both Part D and Part B would deportment upon exclusively 4.3% of seniors today together with heighten $10 billion over 5 years--$7 billion from Part B together with $3 billion from Part D.

We cannot overstep along Medicare equally it is. The Medicare Trustees tell that the infirmary trust fund volition last depleted inward 2019 together with inward negative cash menstruum equally presently equally 2010.

To brand Medicare solvent nosotros either get got to decrease costs or increase income.

We tin cutting costs through more effective attention management, only obviously price controls, or rationing of services. Many believe the market is the best way to employ that together with others believe it volition exclusively guide house through government management--that's roughly other issue!

Means testing for high income seniors may last the easiest together with to the lowest degree painful way to ameliorate Medicare's financial outlook.

On the surface, yous would recollect Congress would boundary at the chance to brand a big dent inward Medicare's solvency problems with a progressive financing system--not dissimilar the progressive income revenue enhancement scheme nosotros get got today where the rich pay more.

But means testing is real unpopular. This past times March, the Senate rejected way testing of Medicare past times a vote of 52-44. AARP is dead laid against it. In today's Washington Post, John Rother, policy manager for AARP was quoted equally saying, "You tell it saves coin together with these people tin afford it, but it also eats away at the incomes of seniors. It erodes their feel of reliability on these federal programs, together with it sure enough erodes political support."

John is correct on each point. In particular, having the rich inward the same entitlement programs amongst the poor--both Medicare together with Social Security--has been critical to maintaining the political support for these programs.

But nosotros can't only overstep along to recollect Medicare--and Social Security for that matter--is going to only bop along equally it has. Health attention costs overstep along to ascent at unsustainable levels together with the Baby Boomers are nearly to striking the program.

Make no mistake, means testing past times itself won't last enough. It volition also get got a concerted endeavour to bargain amongst the cost side.

While I volition advise means testing is going to last an unavoidable tool inward the kit toward fixing the entitlement programs, concerns that a failure to index the way test volition eventually Pb to higher costs for the midpoint course of pedagogy are legitimate. The electrical flow looming choice minimum revenue enhancement (AMT) crisis provides an of import lesson. When the AMT was kickoff imposed it exclusively impacted the rich who were avoiding their taxes. Now, it is nearly to striking the midpoint course of pedagogy hard. Indexing is critical if the objective is to genuinely deportment upon exclusively the summit 5% or 10% of seniors past times income.

Ron Pollock of Familes USA, mostly considered to last a liberal advocacy organization, takes, what strikes me, equally a to a greater extent than constructive sentiment contention means testing makes feel equally long equally the thresholds ascent amongst inflation (they are indexed), the pathetic get got adequate support, together with everyone continues to last inward the programme inward lodge to hold political back upwardly across income course of pedagogy lines.

Ron is dead on. Bipartisan understanding along these lines would become a long way toward shoring upwardly our entitlement programs together with maintaining the wide political back upwardly that has been together with then necessary.

Thus the article Means Testing For Medicare--It's Unavoidable If Politically Problematic

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