MAGNITUDE OF MEDICARE
• When LBJ achieved the passage of Medicare in 1965, only 50% of
seniors had health insurance. Now well over 90% are covered.
• The advent of Medicare reduced senior poverty by two-thirds of the
previous level since most financial problems were health related.
• There are now 45 million people on Medicare and this number is
projected to reach 79 million by 2030 according to the Kaiser Family
Foundation.
• Medicare spending currently consumes 13% of the United States budget.
• Medicare is big business. For example, the major players in the field
have profits in the hundreds of millions of dollars with top CEO
remuneration exceeding $10 million/year for some executives.
• Only one-third of the senior population currently supports health care
reform. The main reason is they fear Medicare benefits will be reduced
and that would not be acceptable. Generally, this is an irrational fear
but unless you want to be verbally abused, don’t say this to a large
gathering of Medicare recipients.
Now that you realize the Medicare program is not some little niche in Washington, it is time to progress to the segment where we provide you with a basic knowledge of what Medicare is all about. We do not want you to appear lacking in basic intelligence and on the short end of the senior social skills ladder.
Most of your friends know very little about this subject, but we all have one or two that tell us, “My plan is the best and let me have my agent call you.” However, after you complete this website, you can say “Fred, that really won’t be necessary and oh, by the way, I never have liked your wife.”
Medicare is a major force in seniors’ lives plus a significant element in the economic structure of our economy. For verification of this statement, consider the following:
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