All aspects of Medicare -- the history, the current status and suggested reforms -- have been thoroughly politicized. Almost every statement about Medicare you read anywhere is designed as propaganda. Everything from the silly right-wing chain letter that says President Obama is going to cut you off from Medicare when you turn 76 to the left wing claim that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 as amended saves Medicare from "bankruptcy." It's all untrue -- much of it intentionally untrue -- and it can cost you money if you don't pay attention.
None of these lies piss me off more than the ones -- basically from the far left wing of the Democratic Party but from Republicans to a lesser degree -- that say:
- We seniors are stupid and need the goo goos and politicians to choose for us. We have been buying insurance of all types for 50-60 years you know.
- We didn't pay for our Medicare. We have been paying payroll and income taxes for 50-60 years you know. (The net present value of those payments plus the pooling effect of insurance in general plus an uplift at a market rate to compensate for what we lost in returns on that money more than pays for our Medicare, for those born after 1945).
- We don't care about the poor. Medicare is basically free for the poor you know paid for with our 50-60 years of taxes and our current premiums (that's right; no one ever tells you there are current premiums until you go on Medicare--thousands of dollars a year in current premiums).
Strong letter to follow... (actually what will follow will be more of my pox-on-all-their-houses opinions plus totally unbiased advice -- which you cannot even get from HICAP/SHIP/SHINE volunteers)