Medicare is a major sticking point for both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, and the details of each candidate's Medicare plan, as well as the potential impact on costs and benefits, can be lost in translation.
Most of President Obama's cost-cutting ideas are incorporated into the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is being phased in. The details of Mr. Romney's overhaul are a little hazier. In order to discern how each candidate's plans would affect the critical issues of costs and benefits, the Associated Press proposed five questions to each campaign.
Question 1: What happens if Mr. Romney's fixed health insurance payment for future retirees fails to keep up with rising medical costs?
Answer: According to the report, thousands of dollars in costs could get shifted to retirees. Mr. Romney's campaign says his goal is to avoid cost-shifting and to secure affordable coverage options for future Medicare beneficiaries. The Romney campaign also expects competition among insurers to keep costs in check.
Q2: Will there be a set of guaranteed benefits that private plans must cover in Mr. Romney's revamped Medicare?
A: According to the report, the Romney campaign website says, "All insurance plans must offer coverage at least comparable to what Medicare provides today."
Q3: Mr. Romney would turn the Medicaid program for low-income people entirely over to the states, sharply limiting its future growth. Would he require states to institute special protections for this vulnerable group?
A: The campaign says Medicaid spending would grow under Mr. Romney's plan, and states will have the flexibility to design programs that serve low-income people most effectively.
Q4: Mr. Romney has said he would repeal President Obama’s healthcare overhaul. Would he reinstate Medicare benefits improved by the law?
A: The campaign is silent on this issue.
Q5: Mr. Romney's privatization plan would not affect current beneficiaries or anyone joining Medicare before 2023. But does Mr. Romney also guarantee that he will protect traditional Medicare from any future cuts?
A: The campaign is silent on this issue.
According to the report, if President Obama is re-elected and plunges into deficit negotiations with congressional Republicans, he will be pushed for greater Medicare savings by cutting more payments to providers or squeezing some benefits from recipients. What will this mean for costs and benefits in Medicare? Here are five questions and answers on President Obama's Medicare plan.
Question 1: What new costs can seniors expect under President Obama's plan for Medicare?
Answer: According to the report, President Obama would raise monthly premiums for retirees making $85,000 or more ($170,000 for married couples). He also would hit newly joining baby boomers with a series of fees. A growing share of seniors would pay the higher premiums over time. He'd also bump up the premiums paid by higher-income beneficiaries by 15 percent. After about 20 years, the top 25 percent of Medicare recipients would be paying higher, income-based premiums.
Q2: Hasn't President Obama also hinted he might be willing to increase the eligibility age for Medicare?
A: President Obama indicated a willingness to consider gradually raising the eligibility age from 65 to 67. The president has since walked it back, but the idea is not off the table. If re-elected, President Obama will face the choice in budget negotiations, according to the report.
Q3: Medicare's in-house economic analysts have warned that cuts in President Obama's healthcare law could eventually drive some hospitals into the red. What will President Obama do if seniors start having problems getting the care they need?
A: The administration says it is unlikely hospitals will go into the red, according to the report. Cuts are being introduced gradually, and dozens of pilot programs are testing ways to provide better care for less money. If President Obama's advisers are wrong and the system starts to seize up, most experts believe Congress would intervene, according to the report.
Q4: President Obama’s healthcare law already increases the Medicare payroll tax for working individuals making more than $200,000. What's to rule out a broader tax increase?
A: The White House says there are no plans to propose higher Medicare taxes, according to the report.
Q5: The administration pulled the plug on a new long-term care insurance program because of financing problems. How does President Obama plan to address this unmet national need in his second term?
A: The campaign says Obama is willing to work with anyone who has good ideas about long-term care, and Medicaid and Medicare will continue working to help seniors who want to stay in their own homes instead of going into nursing facilities.
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Most of President Obama's cost-cutting ideas are incorporated into the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is being phased in. The details of Mr. Romney's overhaul are a little hazier. In order to discern how each candidate's plans would affect the critical issues of costs and benefits, the Associated Press proposed five questions to each campaign.
Mitt Romney's Medicare plan
Under Mr. Romney's Medicare changes, individuals now 54 and younger would shift into a different type of Medicare. Once eligible, these individuals would get a fixed payment from the government, adjusted for inflation, to pay for either private insurance or a government plan modeled on Medicare, according to the report. Current beneficiaries and those nearing retirement could stay in the traditional program. What will this mean for costs and benefits in Medicare? Here are five questions and answers on Mr. Romney's Medicare plan.Question 1: What happens if Mr. Romney's fixed health insurance payment for future retirees fails to keep up with rising medical costs?
Answer: According to the report, thousands of dollars in costs could get shifted to retirees. Mr. Romney's campaign says his goal is to avoid cost-shifting and to secure affordable coverage options for future Medicare beneficiaries. The Romney campaign also expects competition among insurers to keep costs in check.
Q2: Will there be a set of guaranteed benefits that private plans must cover in Mr. Romney's revamped Medicare?
A: According to the report, the Romney campaign website says, "All insurance plans must offer coverage at least comparable to what Medicare provides today."
Q3: Mr. Romney would turn the Medicaid program for low-income people entirely over to the states, sharply limiting its future growth. Would he require states to institute special protections for this vulnerable group?
A: The campaign says Medicaid spending would grow under Mr. Romney's plan, and states will have the flexibility to design programs that serve low-income people most effectively.
Q4: Mr. Romney has said he would repeal President Obama’s healthcare overhaul. Would he reinstate Medicare benefits improved by the law?
A: The campaign is silent on this issue.
Q5: Mr. Romney's privatization plan would not affect current beneficiaries or anyone joining Medicare before 2023. But does Mr. Romney also guarantee that he will protect traditional Medicare from any future cuts?
A: The campaign is silent on this issue.
President Obama's Medicare plan
According to the report, if President Obama is re-elected and plunges into deficit negotiations with congressional Republicans, he will be pushed for greater Medicare savings by cutting more payments to providers or squeezing some benefits from recipients. What will this mean for costs and benefits in Medicare? Here are five questions and answers on President Obama's Medicare plan.Question 1: What new costs can seniors expect under President Obama's plan for Medicare?
Answer: According to the report, President Obama would raise monthly premiums for retirees making $85,000 or more ($170,000 for married couples). He also would hit newly joining baby boomers with a series of fees. A growing share of seniors would pay the higher premiums over time. He'd also bump up the premiums paid by higher-income beneficiaries by 15 percent. After about 20 years, the top 25 percent of Medicare recipients would be paying higher, income-based premiums.
Q2: Hasn't President Obama also hinted he might be willing to increase the eligibility age for Medicare?
A: President Obama indicated a willingness to consider gradually raising the eligibility age from 65 to 67. The president has since walked it back, but the idea is not off the table. If re-elected, President Obama will face the choice in budget negotiations, according to the report.
Q3: Medicare's in-house economic analysts have warned that cuts in President Obama's healthcare law could eventually drive some hospitals into the red. What will President Obama do if seniors start having problems getting the care they need?
A: The administration says it is unlikely hospitals will go into the red, according to the report. Cuts are being introduced gradually, and dozens of pilot programs are testing ways to provide better care for less money. If President Obama's advisers are wrong and the system starts to seize up, most experts believe Congress would intervene, according to the report.
Q4: President Obama’s healthcare law already increases the Medicare payroll tax for working individuals making more than $200,000. What's to rule out a broader tax increase?
A: The White House says there are no plans to propose higher Medicare taxes, according to the report.
Q5: The administration pulled the plug on a new long-term care insurance program because of financing problems. How does President Obama plan to address this unmet national need in his second term?
A: The campaign says Obama is willing to work with anyone who has good ideas about long-term care, and Medicaid and Medicare will continue working to help seniors who want to stay in their own homes instead of going into nursing facilities.
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