No Michelle, I Get It

Watching GMA this morning, George Stephenopolous did and interview with Michelle Bachmann where they discussed her support of Paul Ryan's bill that would overhaul medicare.  Bachmann made the statement that, "People don't recognize that this is about people who are 55 and younger..."

Yes, Michelle, I recognize that it's about people 55 and younger, I'm 42.  It's about ME.  And I don't want left out in the cold to die any more than the 72 year old woman you mention.  Let's look at what Ryan proposed in his bill.

Instead of providing me with medicare when I turn 65 he wants to give me a voucher to help pay for insurance.  That sounds peachy until you put it in a real case scenerio.

Let's assume for a moment that my health is identical to my mother's.  By the time I turn 60 I have had 5 heart attacks.  I can't work because of my heart, so I'm dependent on my husband's insurance through his employer.  That's fine until he retires.  I don't get to keep his insurance, so I start shopping for a policy on my own.  I was turned down for disability, so I'm completely on my own.  My husband's social security and pension make our income too high for medicaid, so it's all on me.

Of all of the insurance quotes I've received, the cheapest one will cost $900 a month in premiums.  Our total income is $2400 a month, but insurance wants $900 of it just to cover ME.  This is where the vouchers come in, right?  WAIT.  I'm not 65 yet, no voucher.  If I were 65, how much is the voucher going to be?  That $900 quote was given to me 10 years ago, how high will they charge now?  How much will the premiums go up since they know that the government will pay a portion of it with a voucher?  

This voucher system is lip service to the citizens of America while funneling money to the insurance companies through us.  But if I'm identical to my mother in my health, they won't have to worry about me making a scene about over-the-top premiums and vouchers that barely touch them.  My mother died two months after turning 65.  She had cancer that wasn't diagnosed because her family doctor ignored the symptoms and she couldn't afford to go for a second opinion.  Nobody took notice until a huge bump formed on her head, and by then she was end stage.

So yes, the voucher system will save a lot of money.  You don't have to provide vouchers to people that die before turning 65.  We need health care for all that won't drive us to the poor house getting it.  My mom would have been 69 this coming weekend if we had the universal health care that Clinton tried to pass back in the 90's. 

Killing off future senior citizens like myself isn't the answer to medicare reform.  Take it back to the drawing board and give it a long term look this time.