The Future of
Social Security & Medicare
When will Congress and the Administration address the problems of Social Security and Medicare? It seems as though they have been the topic of conversation for more than 15 years.
Social Security may prove to be an easier fix at least in the short-term. Considering the motivation of this Administration, it will probably take a new leader to do what President Reagan did in 1986, raise the income ceiling for everyone paying into Social Security. With a huge increase in baby boomers over the next 20 years and a decrease in employed workers, it may be necessary to dispose of the ceiling indefinitely. This may not solve the problem permanently but will allow time for future Congresses to plan for a long-term solution.
The more serious query is how to proceed with Medicare funding. Direct negotiations between the federal government and the pharmaceutical companies for price controls on drugs would reduce significantly the expense saving taxpayer dollars. This idea, proposed by Democrats prior to the current plan must be a part of the solution. Also bleeding Medicare dry, are payments to private HMOs. The government should not supplement private insurance or pharmaceutical companies as they are for profit entities. What has happened to advocates for a smaller federal government? These issues should be of concern to every citizen.
Other ideas to consider are having affluent elderly patients pay more for their medical care, perhaps using a sliding scale fee and increasing the age at which people are eligible to receive Medicare. With people living longer, it may be necessary to look at age 67 or 68 before participation. Times are changing and belt tightening is the way of the future for everyone. We can no longer expect the same benefits we had in past years.
Although overhead costs are relatively low compared with private insurance companies, fraud can and does occur. This year fraudulent claims and mismanagement may siphon as much as $70 billion from the estimated Medicare budget of $400 billion. With bills paid and processed by computers no one actually sees or evaluates them thus making it easier to defraud Medicare. Because Medicare and Medicaid process over a billion claims a year it is impossible to check every one. There are anti-scam strategies available that catch some false claims, but more needs to be done in this area. Having more employees trained to detect fraud may help reduce the incidences.
Social Security and Medicare were originated to help our elderly citizens maintain a quality of life toward which all of us strive. We realize that no system is perfect but these programs have kept many people from poverty and we must work to assure future senior citizens that they will be there for them. Medicare is very complicated and there are no easy answers or the problem would have been solved years ago, but there are some things that can be done now to stop the bleeding while Congress begins to tackle Medicare in earnest. Become involved by contacting your senators and telling them your ideas and insist that they act as though the problems were with their own personal retirement and their own insurance company.
Norma Dayton
President