EDITORIAL – Medicare tries bankruptcy cure

In an act of self-preservation, Medicare announced this week that wealthier beneficiaries… In an act of self-preservation, Medicare announced this week that wealthier beneficiaries will pay more for their coverage.

A majority of people will pay 5.6 percent more next year, an increase that is the lowest since 2001, according to a Washington Post report.

More affluent seniors can expect an increase as high as 83.2 percent for services.

Critics of the new scale say that the government’s plan will only scare off wealthier seniors who are in generally good health.

Shannon Benton, the executive director of Washington-area advocacy group Senior Citizens League, says that while this seems like a sound plan to sustain the failing program, it might be Medicare’s undoing.

“As wealthy seniors abandon Medicare as it becomes more expensive and choose private insurance instead,” Benton said, “only the oldest and sickest will be stuck in Medicare, driving up costs for everyone left behind.”

Still, advocates of the increase say that Medicare won’t be hurt, estimating that 9,000 people will leave the program next year because of the increases and 30,000 would leave by 2010. If these projections are accurate, it’s not such a big loss for Medicare, considering that 42 million Americans are enrolled in the program, and only 1.5 million will be affected by the new system.

Medicare expects to save 10 billion dollars in the next ten years because of the new means-tested premiums, which is good news for us and our parents, considering the program’s financial woes and the growing number of beneficiaries.

We’re glad to see the government doing something to support the longevity of Medicare. If this change means that more people will be supported with either the same amount or less money, then that’s good news for everyone. We’re not going to hide the sense of entitlement we feel towards Medicare after years of paying into it. We want to see a program develop that has no expiration date in sight, and we want it to be around when it’s our turn to collect.

Despite the hike for wealthier Americans, Medicare is still a great deal because the most affluent Americans – those with an income of $200,000 a year or more – are eligible for about $4,300 in benefits while only paying an average of $2,000 a year in premiums.

Taxes are also based on a gradient system, so it only makes sense that the people benefiting the most in the country should give back more. Americans are living longer and they’re going to need more from the program than originally anticipated.

This is necessary for the future of Medicare and it’s a practical, sustainable step in the right direction. Perhaps the only question for the government is: Why didn’t you try this sooner?