February 12th of Don’t Cut Our Medicare

[Martha Koester]

The next meeting of Don’t Cut Our Medicare will be on
February 12th from 1PM-4PM at
Douglass-Truth Library
2300 East Yesler Way
Seattle, Washington 98122


Health care for All-WA has come out with the following plan for
saving, improving and expanding Medicare.

Save, Improve and Expand Medicare

Save Medicare

We now know what the "Deficit Reduction Commission" proposes to cut in
Medicare to balance the budget, and factions in the upcoming Congress
promise to
keep up their efforts.

--Limits Medicare Spending
The co-chairs' proposal limits the government's total health
expenditures (Medicare, Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program
(CHIP), exchange subsidies, employer health exclusion) at the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) + 1 %. This radical spending limit does not
account for new Medicare beneficiaries.

--Introduces Premium Support
Currently, Medicare operates as a defined benefit system. It pays for
medical care without limits. If the government does not meet its
spending reduction target, the co-chairs' proposal recommends using
premium support, which means beneficiaries would receive a fixed
amount of money to purchase health benefits.

--Raising Medicare Retirement Age
While the co-chairs' proposal does not single out raising the Medicare
retirement age as a solution, the report does offer it as an option if
the spending reduction targets are not met.

--Increase Beneficiary Premiums or Cost-sharing
The Independent Payment Advisory Board (IP AB) is entrusted under the
new health care law to provide recommendations on how to reduce
medical costs under Medicare; however, they are forbidden from
recommending changes that would impact beneficiaries, such as
increases in cost-sharing or reductions in benefits. The co-chairs'
proposal recommends doing away with this prohibition and allowing IP
AB to make cost-sharing changes.

--Restrict First-Dollar Coverage in Medigap Policies
In an effort to discourage the use of Medicare benefits, the co-
chairs' proposal prohibits Medigap plans from covering the first $500
of enrollee's cost-sharing and limits coverage to 50 percent of the
next $5,000 in Medicare cost-sharing.

(For more information, see Alliance for Retired Americans, Update on
Final Actions of the Fiscal Commission, 3 Dec 2010.)

Improve Medicare

These are the suggestions that most supporters of Medicare mention as
ways of
improving a widely-accepted model of Single Payer financing of health
care delivery.

--End the uneven payment formula that penalizes medical providers in
states like Washington.

--Find a permanent "DocFix" to reimburse physicians and other
providers fairly so that they can see Medicare patients without
bankrupting their practices.

--Establish a direct Medicare prescription drug benefit that allows
the Medicare governing body to negotiate prices.

--Establish an independent national board with the ability to set fair
prices for health services, drugs, and devices and advise the Medicare
governing body. Establish a national board to evaluate the
effectiveness of diagnostic tests, therapies, drugs and devices, and
to advise the Medicare governing body.

Expand Medicare
Any categorical expansion of Medicare can be financially sound. But
schemes to
allow the young or the healthy to opt out by shopping for cheaper
coverage is not. Therefore, most plans for a voluntary 'Public Option'
would bankrupt Medicare.

--Lower the Medicare eligibility age to 50 in five-year increments.

--Cover all children and young adults up to age 26, and then allow
them to choose to continue with Medicare or change to a private
insurance pllan

--Cover all unemployed and those working part time, and then allow
them to choose to continue with Medicare or change to a private
insurance plan when they move to full-time employment.

During conversations with our elected officials--

Ask our elected state officials publicly to call for Congress to
protect Medicare as a vital safety net to the vast majority of
American seniors.

Ask our elected state officials publicly to call for Congress to
expand Medicare
by 'federalizing' the Medicaid program, and fold it into Medicare,
which would be a significant tax relief for state government

o In the first two years of this recession, the number of W A
residents on Medicaid has risen from 862,500 [Dec 2007] to 1,006,800
[Dec 2009], 18 % of our population.

o The federal government currently [FY 2008] spends $3.242 billion for
W A residents on Medicaid - 51.5%. W A state taxpayers pay $3.051
billion¬48%

Figures for WA are from http://www.statehealthfacts.org/profileind.ispcat=4&sub=52&rgn=49

[Martha Koester]

Oops! Copied the wrong template!. It's really Beacon Hill. Sorry,
ant thanks to Robert for pointing that out.