This is a rather powerful chart. It belies all the "facts" that those who maliciously attack Medicare present. Let us look at a person who works for 40 years. The typical American. This person goes to college and then starts work in 1970 at $16,000 per year and gets annual raises at 5% per annum. This is NOT some corporate executive and NOT some uneducated worker. It is in many ways the typical American. The engineer, the school teacher, the salesperson, the person on the GM factory line, the police officer and the like. They contribute 3% of their gross to Medicare. We assume it is saved and invested at say 6% per annum by the Government, a real bad assumption.
Then at 65 we add all of the savings up and we get a total of $165,143 in a lump sum amount. Now we assume that this person lives another 20 years and we ask what is the payout per assume that this person gets. It is $14,398, well in excess of their personal cost of an insurance plan even at the rate of today's private plans. Furthermore it is substantially less than any Medicare benefits.
Thus what is the problem with medicare. This simple back-of the-envelope calculation, which can be performed by any high school student seems to be missed by the economic brains in the current Administration. Any VC, any entrepreneur, any banker, could do this calculation. Also the Medicare recipient pays an additional amount into the fund on an annual basis and the Medicare payments typically cover at most 60% of the actual costs, thus leaving a substantial amount to be paid by the Medicare recipient.
The conclusions of this simple calculation are as follows:
1. The Medicare recipients who work a lifetime get much less than what they contribute.
2. The money is wasted by the Government, not by the Medicare recipient.
3. Those who run Medicare are doing what they are doing to establish a national single payer plan, which if Medicare is an example will end up costing people more for less and yield poorer health care.
4.Medicare has also become a dumping ground for many who have not reached 65 and have not contributed. It is an SSI dumping and loading ground.
One must ask why those who represent the elderly such as AARP would even allow such a plan to continue. It is outright highway robbery of the elderly. Does one suspect that the good Senator Kennedy gets his healthcare from Medicare, doubtful. It is essential to run the numbers and see the results.
Then at 65 we add all of the savings up and we get a total of $165,143 in a lump sum amount. Now we assume that this person lives another 20 years and we ask what is the payout per assume that this person gets. It is $14,398, well in excess of their personal cost of an insurance plan even at the rate of today's private plans. Furthermore it is substantially less than any Medicare benefits.
Thus what is the problem with medicare. This simple back-of the-envelope calculation, which can be performed by any high school student seems to be missed by the economic brains in the current Administration. Any VC, any entrepreneur, any banker, could do this calculation. Also the Medicare recipient pays an additional amount into the fund on an annual basis and the Medicare payments typically cover at most 60% of the actual costs, thus leaving a substantial amount to be paid by the Medicare recipient.
The conclusions of this simple calculation are as follows:
1. The Medicare recipients who work a lifetime get much less than what they contribute.
2. The money is wasted by the Government, not by the Medicare recipient.
3. Those who run Medicare are doing what they are doing to establish a national single payer plan, which if Medicare is an example will end up costing people more for less and yield poorer health care.
4.Medicare has also become a dumping ground for many who have not reached 65 and have not contributed. It is an SSI dumping and loading ground.
One must ask why those who represent the elderly such as AARP would even allow such a plan to continue. It is outright highway robbery of the elderly. Does one suspect that the good Senator Kennedy gets his healthcare from Medicare, doubtful. It is essential to run the numbers and see the results.
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