fix social security

[Deff Gordon]

it's seems like a pretty easy fix

people only pay into SS up to their first $75k they make...

remove that cap.

problem solved.

thoughts?

[PETA]

yeah, benefits are capped too... so if you remove the cap on wages taxed shouldn't it make sense to increase the benefits to more accurately reflect what one pays in?

Or, do you prefer SS to be even more of a mechanism of wealth redistribution?

How about this fix, I'll sign over 100% of my expected benefits if the government agrees to permanently adjust my rate downward by 30% and leave the cap for me.

GW tried shopping a number of plans and Congress wasn't buying. Besides, medicare is the more pressing concern (not the only one of course). I think the scheduloed date for the fund to go belly up is currently 2017 (optimisticaly) and from what I understand the Baucus plan would fund Obamacare with Medicare funds and drive the date up closer to .. well... now.

[Deff Gordon]

of course. and i still say it would fix the problem... or we could just sit and watch it dry up.

as for medicare... the system in place right now (that was changed in 1997 & 2002) is what is bleeding the system dry. and that money goes directly to the insurance companies... they don't even have to pass Go.

[PETA]

Originally Posted by Deff Gordon

of course. and i still say it would fix the problem... or we could just sit and watch it dry up.

of course what? turn it into another welath transfer program or simply scale it up wherte increased payin gets increased benefits or adopt the suggestion I offered?

Originally Posted by Deff Gordon

as for medicare... the system in place right now (that was changed in 1997 & 2002) is what is bleeding the system dry. and that money goes directly to the insurance companies... they don't even have to pass Go.

Just medicare advantage iirc, the other programs are gov't (tax dollar) pay directly to providers. It does hemorrhage cash. It also uses privately paid health care to subsidize its existence. Health care providers accept low paying medicare and make up the difference by charging people with private insurance more and by charging those who pay cash even more still. This is why I don't buy the public option argument.... when you squeeze more out of the private pay options (insurance and cash) and into government pay you're subsidizing ever increasing numbers with ever decreasing numbers. The net result is the need for more tax money to fund the system or reduce payments to providers (probably both) which will drive some doctors out of the business but mostly it'll probably mean greater rationing than we currently have.

[Deff Gordon]

or it creates better medicare supplement plans...
allowing the free market to flourish and work just like it did back prior to 1997

[PETA]

Originally Posted by Deff Gordon

or it creates better medicare supplement plans...
allowing the free market to flourish and work just like it did back prior to 1997

I'm 100% in favor of reform moving in that direction. I keep saying that we need, amongst other things, more clinics that compete on price. PAs and nurses under the supervision of an MD who can do stitches, flu shots, write scripts for minor illneesses (when I was a kid I saw a PA all the time - and I was a sick kid every winter) etc etc. Bring wellness care costs back into the realm of reason. If these plans offered by the government were efficient enough to earn a profit private industry would be doing it - that means the gov't would operate only those plans not efficient enough to survive outside of the lab so to speak. We need to be clear on that point and I think Obama has tried to sell his plan as better and cheaper than insurance - that doesn't pass the giggle test. Lastly, the fact remains that end of life care tends to be the most costly care anyone will ever experience. That can be carved out through other means like disaster care riders (or supplements if you prefer the term)

[Deff Gordon]

supplement *is* the term. supplemental insurance.

(not my choice of words)

lol

[HomoSexualPredator]

Originally Posted by PETA

I'm 100% in favor of reform moving in that direction. I keep saying that we need, amongst other things, more clinics that compete on price. PAs and nurses under the supervision of an MD who can do stitches, flu shots, write scripts for minor illneesses (when I was a kid I saw a PA all the time - and I was a sick kid every winter) etc etc. Bring wellness care costs back into the realm of reason. If these plans offered by the government were efficient enough to earn a profit private industry would be doing it - that means the gov't would operate only those plans not efficient enough to survive outside of the lab so to speak. We need to be clear on that point and I think Obama has tried to sell his plan as better and cheaper than insurance - that doesn't pass the giggle test. Lastly, the fact remains that end of life care tends to be the most costly care anyone will ever experience. That can be carved out through other means like disaster care riders (or supplements if you prefer the term)

Me thinks you're on the right track

I finally found the article that discusses how healtcare providers are viewing patients as ATMs instead of "good outcomes."

It's a great piece, but 8 pages long. Enjoy!

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2...a_fact_gawande