Vice President Kamala
Harris explains her plans, if she is elected President, in broad general
terms. What it all boils down to is a
rehash of Barack Obama’s mantra of “hope and change,” which Americans
repudiated in the election of 2016. One
of her ideas is for the US government to provide “Medicare for All.” The idea is not new. In the US Senate, Senator Bernard “Bernie”
Sanders introduced S.1804 – Medicare for All Act of 2017. It was referred to
the Senate Finance Committee, and no further action has been taken.
When the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) was passed in 2010, it was
widely predicted that it would be a gateway to a single payer system. Senator Sanders and Vice President Harris appear
to be trying to make those predictions a reality. The problem is that we can’t afford it.
“U.S.
health care spending grew 4.1 percent in 2022, reaching $4.5 trillion or
$13,493 per person. As a share of the nation's Gross Domestic Product,
health spending accounted for 17.3 percent.”
Over
2023-32 average NHE growth (5.6 percent) is projected to outpace that of
average GDP growth (4.3 percent), resulting in an increase in the health
spending share of GDP from 17.3 percent in 2022 to 19.7 percent in 2032.
The current national debt
is estimated at about $35 trillion, and it is climbing so fast that an exact amount
is obsolete in the time it takes to type it. ] The Penn Wharton Budget Model (University of
Pennsylvania) estimates:
Under
current policy, the United States has about 20 years for corrective action
after which no amount of future tax increases or spending cuts could avoid the
government defaulting on its debt whether explicitly or implicitly (i.e., debt
monetization producing significant inflation). Unlike technical defaults where
payments are merely delayed, this default would be much larger and would
reverberate across the U.S. and world economies.
In its present form,
Medicare is already on the high road to insolvency:
The
Social Security Board of Trustees project that the Social Security Old-Age and
Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund will become insolvent in
2033 and that the Disability Insurance (DI) trust fund will not
become depleted in the 75-year projection period.
The
Medicare Board of Trustees project that the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI)
Trust Fund, out of which Part A benefits for inpatient care are paid, will
become insolvent in 2036, which is five years later than
projected in last year’s report.
“Medicare for All” gives
gullible people the idea health care would be made available to Americans “for
free.” The oldest con in the world is to
make the “mark” think that they can get something for nothing. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Somebody will have to pay for it.
A favorite Democrat
solution to the problem is to “make the rich and big business” pay for it. This solution ignores reality.
Increases in the cost of
doing business are passed along to the consumers in the form of higher prices.
Many voters are currently listing inflation as a major problem in the United
States.
Higher taxes for the rich
and big business will continue to drive capital and the means of production out
of the country. Domestic economic
activity creates and sustains jobs in both the private and public sector. People cannot earn a living wage if there are
no jobs.
Today’s Medicare is not
free:
The
current tax rate for Social Security is 6.2% for the employer and 6.2% for the
employee, or 12.4% total. The current rate for Medicare is 1.45% for the
employer and 1.45% for the employee, or 2.9% total.
The
self-employment tax rate is 15.3%. The rate consists of two parts: 12.4% for
social security (old-age, survivors, and disability insurance) and 2.9% for
Medicare (hospital insurance).
Funding
for Medicare, which totaled $888 billion in 2021, comes primarily from general
revenues (46%), payroll tax revenues (34%), and premiums paid by beneficiaries
(15%) (Figure 8). Other sources include taxes on Social Security benefits,
payments from states, and interest. The different parts of Medicare are funded
in varying ways, and revenue sources dedicated to one part of the program
cannot be used to pay for another part.
As reported above, Social
Security recipients pay part of their benefit amount for Medicare. How much?
It
varies from person to person and depends on which Medicare plans you have and
how high your income is. But for most Medicare beneficiaries it will be at
least $174.70 per month in 2024 if they have Medicare Part B coverage.
Further, Medicare recipients
find that it does not cover all their medical expenses. They need to participate in a Medicare
Advantage health insurance plan to supplement their health care coverage, and
they have to pay for it.
Before you buy the lie and
vote for Democrats and other socialist candidates on 5 November … before you
vote for “cradle to grave” government programs that you think will take care of
you … remember that somebody will have to shell out for it.
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of
other people’s money”
Margaret Thatcher
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance,
and the gospel of envy,
its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”
Winston Churchill
