Medicare at Risk

Medicare is at risk and in desperate need of reform. With 48 million on Medicare and an aging baby boomer generation, Medicare must be overhauled before it goes bust.

Medicare at Risk: Visualizing the Need for Reform

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Medicare became law in 1965 under President Johnson.

Since that time the number of people covered by Medicare has expanded while the number of workers paying Medicare taxes have shrunk. Roughly 88% of Medicare benefits are paid for through payroll taxes.

If Congress decides to cover the funding deficit through increased taxes, the amount a median family pays will jump from $1430 to almost double at $2630 per year.

Obamacare makes things even worse for seniors by cutting $421 in Medicare funding in order to pay for health insurance for the uninsured. Obamacare also dramatically cuts reimbursement to doctors and other medical personnel under the guise of saving money.

The next time you are with your doctor ask them how the feel about taking a 27% pay cut for treating Medicare patients. How would you feel if, in order to save Medicare, Congress decided to cut your Social Security benefits by 27%?

Currently the unfunded liability for Medicare and Social Security exceeds $40 trillion and the share of that burden for our children and grandchildren is roughly $200,000 each.

You can learn more about a Heritage proposal called Saving the American Dream at their website (just follow the link).