Monday, May 23, 2011

Seniors Cannot Afford Republican Medicare Plan




Out-of-Pocket Medicare Cost$ Double Under Republican Plan
by James Parks, May 20, 2011


Click link below for state by state breakdown :



http://jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=0d00ca30-ba73-4f5d-a19d-8ec918f76d30

More details out today on how the Republican move to balance the federal budget by ending Medicare would cost seniors a lot. A new state-by-state analysis by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) finds that annual out-of-pocket Medicare health care costs will more than double in every state for seniors turning 65 in 2022 under the Republican budget plan. Seniors living in Florida would be the hardest hit with a $7,383 jump in medical costs, the JEC estimates.
The report also shows that current Medicare beneficiaries will be harmed by the Republican budget, immediately losing preventive services such as mammograms and facing higher prescription drug costs. The Republican plan also would reopen the donut hole, the gap in Medicare Part D that had forced beneficiaries to pay 100 percent of their drug costs after they exceeded an initial coverage limit and until they qualified for catastrophic coverage.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), chairman of the JEC, says:

If Republicans have their way, traditional Medicare will no longer exist in 2022. Instead, our elderly will get a voucher to purchase private insurance, but the voucher won’t keep pace with health care costs. The result would be a staggering increase in out-of-pocket costs beginning in 2022. Our elderly Americans cannot afford to have their health care expenses double, but that’s exactly what the Republican plan delivers.

Click here for state by state breakdown:




http://jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=0d00ca30-ba73-4f5d-a19d-8ec918f76d30

No comments: