Transcript of Health Care Video

On July 31, 2008, Senator Burt Saunders outlined for New-Press readers the difficult situation facing Americans who need healthcare.  His observation that program administration expenses are chief among the culprits is right on the mark.  He even suggests that insurance company lobbies may be too powerful.  His article is well written and long on facts – but short on solutions.

To begin, Senator Saunders and Congressman Mack like to engage in the politics of fear.  They prefer to call healthcare “socialized medicine”.  Those two words conjure visions of hoards of infirmed being herded into a processing facility where they lose their individual identities and receive run of the mill care for issues that may require specialized treatment.  “Socialized medicine” even scares me.

What Senator Saunders and Congressman Mack don’t seem to understand is that healthcare is infrastructure.  Just like roads and bridges and police and fire, education and healthcare are infrastructure – everybody uses it, everybody pays.  And, just like our roads and bridges are crumbling, our education and healthcare systems are crumbling under the weight of years of neglect perpetrated by the Senator and the Congressman.  Their steadfast support of their respective administration’s healthcare policies has brought this nation’s infrastructure to its knees.  Here’s how we change the system.

Let’s expand the Medicare system.  The Medicare system is not perfect, but it is in place and it works.  If you don’t believe it works, ask a senior to opt out of their Medicare benefits.

This is how we expand the Medicare system without putting our country in further jeopardy of going bankrupt.  I propose that every time we inaugurate a new President, we expand the Medicare system by reducing the eligible age by five years and increasing the eligible age by five years.  Thus, on January 20, 2009 when the next President takes the oath of office, the eligible age for Medicare drops to 60.  At the same time it increases to age five.  Here are the benefits.

Now, a 60 year old covered by Medicare will start to go to the doctor.  The overall health of the population age 60 to 64 will improve because he or she will begin to receive regular medical checkups and care.  When these people reach age 65, their health will be better and therefore, the cost of their care will be lower.

For our youngest Americans, those age birth to five years, the benefits are even greater.  A child in the womb, whose mother receives good pre-natal care, is born healthier.  An infant, whose has had all of its immunizations and well-baby care, is more prepared to go to school and learn.  The cost of educating these children is reduced by our investment in their health beginning at conception.

In January, 2013, when the next President is inaugurated, the age is changed again – this time it drops to age 55 and increases to age 10.  By following this plan, by the year 2033, the infrastructure is in place and all Americans are covered by Medicare.

I realize that this plan does not come without a cost.  Here is how I plan to pay for the program.

First, I propose to increase the Medicare tax from 1.45% to 2.00% on both the employee and employer.  This modest 0.55% increase will provide some additional funds for the system.  To help reduce costs, I propose that 0.05% of the 0.55% increase be dedicated to prosecuting, not investigating, but prosecuting and bringing to justice those who would perpetrate fraud on the Medicare system.  This savings alone will total in the billions of dollars.

Next, just as our seniors are required to pay an extra premium for Medicare Part B, those newly covered individuals will also be required to pay that premium at the same rate as our seniors.  For those ages 60 to 64, it amounts to approximately $110.00 per month.  The current law contains a provision for means testing and this means testing provision will apply here, too.  This modest premium will be added on each taxpayer’s U. S. Individual Income Tax Return and paid with their federal income tax each year.  I am almost old enough to be covered by this plan and I can tell you that if this plan were in place, I would be counting the days until I was eligible.  It would be far more affordable than the $250.00 per month I pay now.

Parents of newborns and children age 5 and under would also be required to pay.  The premium would likewise be added to the tax return of the parent who claims the child as his or her dependent.  It may mean a smaller refund for some families, but I would suggest that the peace of mind of having the children covered by Medicare would far outweigh the smaller refund.

Now, to the issues of insurance and program administration costs I offer the following solutions.  First, insurance is not left out of this equation.  Insurance companies sell Medicare supplements all day long.  They would still be free to do so.  But voters should reject any candidate that accepts campaign contributions from the powerful insurance lobbies.  Remember, insurance companies are not in business to provide healthcare or even to provide insurance for healthcare.  Insurance companies are in business to make money, period.

As for program administration costs, guess who is administering the system.  We are.  The United States Government is administering the Medicare system to provide infrastructure for its citizens.  We are the United States Government.  If the administration costs are too high, it is our own fault.  We need to look to ourselves to fix it.  It can be done.  If you don’t believe me, elect me to represent you in Congress.  You will find that I will do the business of the people.  I will be thrifty with the people’s money.  I will fix the infrastructure that is broken, without engaging in the politics of fear.  And when the powerful insurance lobbies come to my door, they will find that I have no obligation to represent them.