Medicare Benefit Reduction Part Of Debt Ceiling Talks - RV-Dreams Community Forum

gypsymaus · RV-Dreams Family Member

Medicare Benefit Reduction Part Of Debt Ceiling Talks

bubbadan · RV-Dreams Family Member

I would email my representative but they seem to vote the way they want not the way we need. The only message they will lesson to is change, vote to change the congress.

gypsymaus · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bubbadan I know exactly what you mean. My Congressman's last name is Flake. I write him often and get no response.

53 Merc · RV-Dreams Family Member

gypsymaus wrote:
Bubbadan I know exactly what you mean. My Congressman's last name is Flake. I write him often and get no response.

Flake, how appropriate. I had a friend with IRS problems. The auditor's name was Penni Hasell. No joke, you can't make this stuff up! Man, she was a piece of work, hassled him over every deduction, down to the penny.

The Hensons · RV-Dreams Family Member

Coleen,

Joe Biden has proposed a $550 "penalty" for those who have a Medigap policy and capping Medicare out of pocket expense at $7500 to eliminate the attractiveness of medigap plans. His thinking is that if people are forced to pay for the first $550 of medical expenses every year then they will be less likely to use their Medicare. Some folks see this as just another scare tactic to get seniors to put pressure on the GOP to raise the debt ceiling.

His proposal is estimated to save $53B...a drop in the bucket really. No politicians are going to risk their seats (and messing with Medicare is about as big a risk a politician can take) for a $53B savings. So, I don't see this happening unless it is done in the 11th hour behind closed doors without anybody knowing it until weeks later. On second thought...that's been done before.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Don't get me started on Medicare. I turned 65 this year and had to go see about the program. While not much has to be done about Type A, I was shocked with Type B. I still work and have good insurance so I don't need the Type B (Doctor's care) yet. However, if I don't sign up OR get my employer or insurance company to sign off on something, I will be penalized for NOT signing up for something I don't need.

If I have to sign up for Type B, they will then require a dollar amount for each and every month for that service. That comes from my Social Security benefit payment (which ain't much by the way). The only problem is that since I work and make more than the "maximum allowed," I only get a benefit payment for six months of the year. I would then be forced to pay for six months worth of Type B, even though I don't want or need it.

I may disagree with some, but both Social Security and Medicare need reforms. Why isn't there a way for me to just sign a waiver on Type B and be done with it? (Darn bureaucrats and politicians!)

Terry

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

I am going to try to avoid getting political, other than to say a pox on both their houses, Republicans and Democrats.

In my opinion, we are in an unsustainable debt death spiral. How did we go from being the world's largest creditor nation in the '50s to the world's largest debtor nation in about 60 years - my lifetime?

I'm turning 65 in October, so I too will soon be on Medicare. I do have retiree insurance from my employer (Blue Cross Blue Shield) but just about the last sentence in the retiree packet says they reserve the right to cancel the program at any time. That really gives me a warm fuzzy.

I don't know about you, but when it comes to biting the bullet I'd rather have to bite on a BB than a 44 magnum - meaning that we all have to be willing to sacrifice something to save our country from ruin, unless we can wholesale replace the entire Congress and Presidency. The 'Not me, not me' mentality has got to go, because it leaves us just as we are... and where we are ain't pretty.

Reforms are needed. I played by the rules all my life, without giving a thought to what the consequences of those rules might be, and now all of a sudden they're talking about drastically changing the rules when it's too late for anyone in my age bracket to make compensating adjustments - the chickens are coming home to roost. Younger people will have time to make needed adjustments IF the reforms are implemented gradually.

I guess it all just goes to show that you should depend on yourselves to meet your needs, and not the government. I don't think they know what they're doing, or that they have ever really worked in their lives. If they have, they've forgotten what it's like. Try slinging full milk cartons into cases in an icebox room of a dairy as I once did. To keep my mind active I used to try to calculate the weight of what I was dealing with. When it got into the thousands of pounds each day I gave it up, because it scared me. No wonder I was so exhausted at the end of each day!

Well, that's my rant and I'm sorry if I've crossed the line or offended anyone.

ersanta · RV-Dreams Family Member

The Politicians are voting on behalf of millions of Americans who are or will be on Medicare and who will be affected by their decisions. They are not overly concerned, since they receive a sizable lifetime pension and medical coverage after serving just ONE TERM in Congress. It doesn't matter how well they represented the will of the people, only that they served.

We need Term Limits, No Pensions, and No Lifetime Insurance Coverage for politicians.

How many would serve under these limitations?

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Tim, Very well stated.I wish for days when we had statesmen instead of politicians.Statesmen cared about our country..politicians only care about the blame game and their special interests.I think there was a group elected this last election that may return us to where we need to be IF the CORRUPT Washington elite doesn't ruin the country before they get a chance.

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

ersanta wrote:

We need Term Limits, No Pensions, and No Lifetime Insurance Coverage for politicians.

How many would serve under these limitations?

I would serve, but ONLY under those limitations. Those special priveleges are what corrupted them all (just my opinion) in the first place. And it needs to apply across the board not just to Congress but to all federal employees. Term limits don't really apply to federal employees, but none of them, Congress included, have to live by the same rules that apply to the rest of us (only 300 million or so, a mere trifle I guess).

However to be fair I must say that when my wife was hospitalized for a year before she passed away we applied for Social Security Disability. She was turned down twice, which basically meant we had to go to the courts for an override, where there is a 2-3 year wait if not more. I contacted my Senator's office (Johnny Isaacson, (R)GA) to see if there was anything they could do. They could not of course go around the law, but the result was that the claim was granted retroactively by administrative decision without having to go to court, because (I assume) they knew the Senator's office was watching the case. That paid for the funeral.

I was surprised to find out that there was an alternative that nobody talks about to having to go to court to appeal a denial.

What I learned from that is that maybe a phone call is better than an email or a letter... or maybe I just had an exceptional representative... probably both.

The Hensons · RV-Dreams Family Member

ersanta wrote:
We need Term Limits, No Pensions, and No Lifetime Insurance Coverage for politicians.

How many would serve under these limitations?

George Washington would...and did.

-- Edited by The Hensons on Friday 22nd of July 2011 06:04:06 PM

charles · RV-Dreams Family Member

TERM LIMITS ARE A MUST.
The founding fathers had no idea that politicians would make Washington a life long job that pays so well.
Take ALL THE PERKS and the plush offices and accoutrements, they live like "kings". Go to DC and see the plush surroundings. Not to mention NO PENSIONS for politicians.
An outrage. And they tell us to share in sacrifice. Expletive deleted.

My rant for the night.

CCC

Laura and Bunk · RV-Dreams Family Member

I turned 65 a couple years ago, no problem with the getting old part but signing up for SS and Medicare aged me another 10 years. My job paid my insurance and RX with a very nice deductible, now I pay almost twice as much for a lot less, can not figure that out!

Lets get back to talking about nice, relaxing RVing please>

Laura

gypsymaus · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have a very dear friend that has been RVing recreationally for years. He always has had a way to haul his motorcyles around. He and his wife purchased their first motorhome this year. He is self-employed like I am. He is in a very "economy based" business and I have seen him rise and fall a couple of times financially over the years.

He made a statement to me recently that hit home and gave me comfort. He said "we look at our motorhome as our life raft". If the economy gets worse and we were financially impacted we will always be okay". I love that concept so much and it resinates with me. We need to talk about the realities that may impact us, but all of us here have a "life raft" and that is the beauty of our commitment to our passion and the common bond we share.