Sen. Kit Bond Wants To Privatize Medicare With Vouchers

[Joanne98]

In his interview with CBS News’ Katie Couric before the Super Bowl earlier this week, President Obama said that he was going to ask Republicans to put their health care ideas “on the table.” “What I want to do is to look at the Republican ideas that are out there,” said Obama. “How do you guys want to lower costs?”

Just days before Obama made his call for GOP health care ideas, Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) offered a radical proposal for reform in a conversation with the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. According to a blog post by the editorial board, Bond called on Friday for giving means-tested vouchers to Medicare enrollees:

Even before he asked, Missouri’s senior U.S. senator was outlining his: Privatize Medicare and limit benefits for upper-income retirees. Meeting with Post-Dispatch editors and reporters on Friday, Mr. Bond called for radical changes to the federal health insurance program that covers 45 million elderly and disabled Americans.

Since its inception in 1965, Medicare has provided the same basic package of benefits to everyone, regardless of income. On Friday, Mr. Bond called for giving Medicare enrollees a voucher to buy health insurance on their own. “You’re going to have to means-test the benefits,” he said, adding that upper income retirees wouldn’t “get much of a voucher.”

Continued>>>>
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/02/09/bond-privatize-medicare/

[DrDan]

1. good idea -

we have a program that runs pretty well and is a hit with seniors.

There must be some profit in it if we can turn it over to corporations.

[sui generis]

2. I would have been more confrontational

I would have said,

here's the problem:
here's what we proposed:
here's what it would fix and by when:

What's your alternate plan people?:

Oh and for the party of less government, uh, who exactly is conducting this "means testing"?

Will that include assets? For example somebody who's worked their entire life to pay off their home, has a home that appreciates significantly after retirement, is the value of that home considered a "high income" asset? Do people who have worked their entire lives to put together a retirement plan that will let them have a few choices have to now spend every dime on medicine, that's their reward? Define high income and promise that the definition won't change if it's being managed by a fox in the hen house - i.e., privatized medicare or a privatized administrator.

These people hate medicare and want it gone. If the solution to bringing more healthcare to more people is to get rid of medicare, then I'd have said that doesn't sound like a solution to the problem at hand - getting people who have no healthcare in front of a doctor and in treatment.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Sounds like Medicaid for seniors.

You have too much, you are denied benefits.

[TwilightGardener]

4. Weren't the GOPers screeching as recently as two months ago that

there should be NO changes to Medicare, and that the Dems want to cut it to hurt seniors? I can't follow along with these nutcases.

[OHdem10]

5. Paul Ryan rising star in GOP developed the Voucher Plan

for Republicans.

The serious problems with this:
The Vouchers are not large enough to purchase Insurance.
Individuals are on their own --each has to deal with
Insurance Company on individual bases. You know who
wins in this case.

[drm604]

6. How many insurance companies are going to sell seniors coverage comparable to Medicare

at anywhere near what it currently costs to cover them under Medicare? To put it simply, this is stupid.

[Recursion]

7. MO, please find another dead guy to beat him soon...

[euphoria12leo]

8. Kit Bond is not seeking re-election.

saying he does not "aspire to become Missouri's oldest Senator."
And the worst person in the world.

[BrklynLiberal]

9. How about we make it mandatory for every congresscritter to be forced to take part

in whatever program they finally come up with for "healthcare reform".

[yurbud]

10. privatization ADDS cost in profits, exec salaries, and kickback to the corrupt pols that privatized