GOP Senator, a deficit hawk and tax reform champion: Let's Raise Rates

[Sbane]

Now that the GOP has gone flexible on taxes, we should go flexible on entitlements.  You cannot realistically expect to make a deal without giving them something in exchange, like the following:   

-enacting medical malpractice reform,
-increasing the Medicare and Social Security eligibility age to 70,
-reducing the tax break for employer-provided health insurance,
-capping Medicare growth beginning FY 2013,
-tightening eligibility for Social Security disability benefits,
-indexing Social Security benefits to inflation as opposed to wages,

How do you propose capping the growth of Medicare?

Also how should people pay for health insurance till the age of 70?

[Sbane]

Raising the Medicare age to 70 is a terrible, counterproductive idea.

^^^^^^
People under 70 use a tiny percent of Medicare funds. The real money is in the final year or two of life. But people would not retire because they need insurance and so there would be fewer jobs for everybody else.

Or even likelier, they would get laid off before that. I think making those under 70 pay more out of pocket for Medicare would be a better idea. Hell, extend Medicare to everyone and make them pay most of the costs as far as I am concerned. We need to get off the employer provided health system.

[Sbane]

Anyone who is actually a deficit hawk knows we have to raise revenues.  How best to do it is an open question.  But I'm impressed with Coburn's pragmatic approach to the present situation.

BTW, sbane, just a question out of curiosity.  You say above that we have to get off of the employer-provided health insurance model.  But on other threads recently you have advocated the Bismarck model.  Though it has signature features of other universal coverage models such as non-profit insurance and annually negotiated caps on medical costs, the Bismarck model resembles are model not only in that it features private providers but is also, to a considerable degree, financed through employer-employee payroll deductions.  Are you sure you prefer Bismarck?

Of course employers pay a part of it. But whether or not you have health insurance should not be based on if you have a job or not. I have always advocated paying for it with increased payroll taxes. From the employer's stand point, having to pay a relatively stable payroll tax must be more desirable than paying insurance premiums that rise every year. Especially if you are a small to medium size business.

[Sbane]

LOL -it's so easy to criticise.  What do you all propose, then, to reform the entitlement programs to shore them up so they don't bankrupt us?  And suggest something you know that congressional Republicans can agree to. 

Some of the things you mentioned make sense. Enacting malpractice reform and indexing social security to inflation as opposed to wages. Tightening eligibility for disability could be a good idea, I am not knowledgeable enough on the subject to say. Reducing the tax credit for employer provided health insurance would only be a good idea with a concurrent move away from employer provided healthcare. Obamacare does not do that.

I disagree with raising the Medicare age up to 70 or 68 (I am fine with 68 for Social Security and you could convince me to raise it to 70). The reason for this is that those who are laid off in their 50's and 60's are going to have to wait that much longer to get proper health care. This is a big problem in this country, and if you raise the retirement age further, this problem will become bigger. You can live off savings until you get Social Security, but with Medicare a lot depends on your circumstances. Many who are that age won't have the luxury of doing so and will face the choice of eating or treating their illness. I think letting them stay with Medicare but with higher copays will be the smart way to go. And also institute means testing. Lots and lots of means testing. That is what Republicans like Bob Corker have proposed and the Democrats should latch on to that.

Or even better, institute a bismarck style system with 4-5 private companies competing with each other for customers. Everyone can join without regards to their job status and everyone must join or face stiff penalties. That would be the common sense option, but we know that won't happen in Washington.

Also you do realize that when you say we should cap the growth of Medicare from next year, you haven't actually proposed anything? How exactly do we go about doing that?

[Sbane]

Frodo is proposing real ideas

Like capping the growth of Medicare? It just sounds so great doesn't it? Until you start to figure out how to go about it.....

[Sbane]

Frodo is proposing real ideas

Like capping the growth of Medicare? It just sounds so great doesn't it? Until you start to figure out how to go about it.....

Medical malpractice would really be a good one to give them because that really does have an effect on the astronomical price of American healthcare, I would imagine.

I'd also be willing to entertain the idea of rasing the SS eligibility age, but certainly not that of Medicare.

Tort reform and indexing Social Security to inflation are very good ideas. Increasing the Medicare age is not, and of course capping the growth of Medicare depends on how exactly one would go about it. Means testing is one sensible way.

[Sbane]

Yeah, Torie has no golden toilets. I was very disappointed.