Whereas the economy needs a boost. And whereas the average middle class person can see about 5% more disposable income should they be ALLOWED to buy their medical insurance through the Medicare system, then why do we not see legislation brought to the floor of the Senate to accomplish this? If you truly believe that the physicians and the other providers are being gouged by Medicare's low benefit payments then perhaps those payments should see an increase. But the cost to the public would STILL be better contained and controlled if people had the option of joining what would be the "Medicare Union". The idea of collective bargaining is not just for trade unions. When Medicare represents a larger portion of the population than it does now then the bargaining power of the Medicare system will be greatly enhanced. The proof of these claims can be reviewed below the fold:
In a report from the Congressional Research Service entitled "Long-Term Analysis of a
Budget Proposal by Chairman Ryan" dated April 8, 2011 we find the following graphic illustration of the savings that inure to the benefit of Medicare policy holders:
And we find the REASON for these savings expressed in one pointed sentence:
Both administrative costs (including profits) and payment rates to providers are higher for private plans than for Medicare.
That sentence is the second sentence of a paragraph entitled "Estimates of the Shares of Spending Borne by the Government and Beneficiaries" on page 21 of the PDF Document produced by the CBO.
The full PDF can be found HERE.
When we actually look at the graphic and consider the statement of the CBO in reference to where these savings come from we know that the savings have nothing to do with the subsidies provided to the seniors by virtue of Medicare taxes and general tax revenue. Those amounts are included in the amount of COST for the Medicare beneficiaries. The savings have NOTHING _ to do with _AGE and only to do with administrative efficiency and the market power of the large contingent of Medicare participants. And it should be very clear that these savings would be had by any and all persons who are included in the Medicare pool whether they are subsidized seniors or not.
The savings, according to the CBO are 19.5% AVERAGE over the next ten years. That's about $100B per year extra in the pockets of middle class America to spend on solar panels or lip gloss. Either expenditure will stimulate demand and help the economy. So the questions are:
Where are Paul Krugman, Brad Delong, and Dean Backer when we need them. Where is Thom Hartman, Randy Rhodes and Norman Goldman. Where is Markos and Jane? And where is the "progressive" community. Bringing a "Medicare Buy In" bill to the floor of the Senate would destroy the Republicans in the forthcoming election cycle. They are on the wrong side of the issue and they are dead meat.