Transcript Social Security

The Politics of Aging
Social Security
Medicare
Health Care Reform
The National Committee to
Preserve Social Security and
Medicare
Janet Witt, MS. RD.
Grassroots Manager
www.ncpssm.org
1800 998-0181
Fairy Tales
 There
are two kinds of Fairy Tales:
Those that begin….
“Once Upon a Time”
And those that begin with….
“If elected I Promise.”
Politics
 If
you want to slow the aging
process………
 Send it through Congress

Will Rogers
No Matter How Flat the Pancake
There’s Always Two Sides
No
“Big Government”
States rights
Trickle down effect
Personal responsibility
Belief in market forces
We See Things as WE are
Not as THEY are
Federal guidelines
 Percolate up effect
 Social responsibility
 Belief in the use of government
forces
 Not adverse to government

6
Debate since 1776
 How
much government is too much?
 What is the role of Government?
 How many rights should states have?
 How much power to the President?
 How many individual rights?
 Taxation?
 Regulation?
 Personal freedom?
SOCIAL SECURITY
 It’s
a “social” insurance program
 Designed to be a safety net
 A guaranteed benefit
 An intergenerational transfer
 Inflation protection
 Disability benefits
What’s it Worth?
 $225,00
for a typical retiree
 $414,000 equivalent to a disability
insurance policy
 69% of Social Security benefits go to
retired persons
 17% of Social Security goes to
people with disabilities
 14% of Social Security goes to
survivors
Social Security
A
large insurance pool spreads risk
 Cost of living adjustments are made
to keep up with inflation
 Low wage earners receive a larger
replacement rate on their earnings
 Social Security pays for itself
 A Social Insurance system is not
welfare
Findings of the 2008 Social
Security Trustees Report
 The
Social Security Trust funds are
fully financed through 2037
 78% of scheduled annual benefits
can be paid at that time
 Outlays exceed OASDI tax income in
2017
Social Security Facts
2008
 50
million people received benefits
 34 million retired workers and their
dependents
 6 million survivors of deceased
workers
 9 million disabled workers and their
dependents
 163 million paid payroll taxes in 08
Privatization
 Privatization
is a plan to dismantle
Social Security
 Privatization
results in cuts to Social
Security benefits with no guarantee
that private investments can replace
lost benefits
Medicare


Medicare is health care for people 65 and
older and those with certain diseases and
disabled people under 65
In 2008, 44.1 million people were covered
by Medicare: 36.9 million age 65 and
older and 7.2 million disabled people
Medicare Maze
 Part
A = Hospital Care
 Part B = The Doctor Part
A & B, together, is the “ORIGINAL”
Medicare
-------------------------------------------Part C = Medicare Advantage or
Managed Care
Part D = The Prescription Drug Benefit
Private Medicare

Parts C & D are “private” Medicare
supplements with many different
plans across the United states
provided through insurance
companies regulated by Medicare.
Can we afford Medicare?
 The
real question is can we afford
the rising cost of healthcare?
 What
is an “entitlement?”
 What
is “Universal?”
 What
do we want?
Medicare Policy Challenges
 Spending
growth
 Improving value
 Protecting the most vulnerable
beneficiaries
 Physician payment
 The role of private plans
 The prescription drug benefit
 Added benefits
Health Care Goals
 To
slow the rising costs of health
care
 To cover the uninsured
 To extend the life of the Medicare
Trust Fund
 To improve benefits
The Health Care Challenge
 Unchecked
inflation in health care
costs
 One out of every six people have no
health insurance
 We have the most expensive health
care in the world
 Need for affordable and portable
health insurance
The Health Care Problem
 Total
health care spending is 16% of
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
 If
we do nothing…health care costs
will grow faster then the economy
Medicare Doesn’t Work in a
Vacuum
 Cost
containment in health care is
critical to the Medicare program
 If
health care costs are not slowed
down, Medicare cannot survive
Who Do You Trust?
 The
Government?
 The
Insurance Companies?
 The
Pharmaceutical Companies?
REALITY CHECK!
 80%
don’t care about your
problems and the other 20% are
glad you have them!
Where Will the Road Lead Us?
Don’t Panic
 Whatever
happens next, changes in
health care will be a process, not an
event!
What is Grassroots?
 Grassroots
are the people who
advocate on an issue and send a
message to their elected
delegation from their state,
county and neighborhood
regarding their thoughts and
concerns on the issue.
What is Leadership
 Managers
light a fire under people.
Leaders light a fire IN people to take
action.
Get involved!
 If
you don’t stand for something,
You will fall for anything.
 Is
Medicare the future or the past?
 You
can make a difference in the
health care debate.
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