► What benefits will seniors enjoy if Obama is defeated in 2012? Print

What benefits will seniors enjoy if Obama is defeated in 2012?

 
Recent polls show that over 50% of seniors support Romney in the upcoming election.
 
It is understandable that seniors who are millionaires would support Romney since he’s declared he’ll keep the Bush tax cuts in place and reduce their taxes another 20%. However, this group is miniscule in comparison to the seniors who will be going to the polls in November.
 
Romney fully supports Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget proposal that would turn Medicare into a voucher system. Anyone 65 or older receives or is entitled to receive Medicare benefits. If Romney defeats Obama and the Republicans gain control of the Senate, we can expect that Romney will keep his promise and repeal Obamacare.
 
Ryan’s voucher system replaces Medicare with a yearly payment (voucher) to every senior that now receives Medicare. An example of how this voucher system would likely benefit seniors is as follows:
  1. $7,500 = voucher pa id to Mrs. Jones (estimate)
  2. $1,100 = monthly Social Security received by Mrs. Jones
  3. $110 = yearly amount now paid by Mrs. Jones for Medicare coverage
  4. $6,500 = amount paid by Mrs. Jones to insurer to purchase healthcare coverage
  5. $6,700 = disposable income (yearly) for Mrs. Jones after paying for healthcare coverage
  6. $558 = monthly disposable income for Mrs. Jones after paying for healthcare coverage
If Mrs. Jones lived in government subsidized housing at a monthly cost of $350, she would be left with $208 to pay for utilities, groceries and other necessities. Clearly, nobody could survive on $208 a month.
 
The above figures assume that Mrs. Jones would be successful in finding an insurer that would even be willing to provide her with healthcare at $14,000 a year. Obviously Mrs. Jones and others similarly situated would suffer from one or more pre-existing conditions, which could result in her being denied coverage at any cost.
 
It is absolutely amazing that any senior would willingly inflict grave financial harm on themselves by casting a vote to eradicate Medicare and replace it with a voucher system. It would be akin to sado-masochism!