Health Care For Seniors - Repeal ----- April 11\2011

Health Care For Seniors - Repeal

Republicans will save more than $1 trillion

over the next decade by transforming the government's two major health care pro­grams and repealing Obama's 2010 health care law. Medicare, which provides health care for more than 45 million American seniors, already consumes about an eighth of federal spending, and its costs are set to explode as the baby boomers start retiring. Republicans  would phase out Medicare's current mechanism, which reimburses health care providers without payout limits for patients, and begin federal payments to private health plans chosen by future seniors.

Republicans say that competition would lower prices—and that seniors who can't count on automatic coverage will be more judicious about their health care consump­tion, which would also lower costs.

Critics worry that Republicans won't give seniors enough money to take care of themselves. Their plan would cap Medicare payments at a rate slightly above inflation, far less than the rate health care costs are projected to grow—meaning that seniors would pay much more of the health care burden out of their own pockets (although Republicans plan would provide extra assis­tance to some low-income seniors).

Republicans have partly insulated their vision from electoral blow back by exempting Americans 55 and over from any changes to their Medicare coverage, although GOP operatives worry that Democratic attacks will lead current seniors—who have the high­est voter turnout—to believe otherwise.