Elder Abuse
by digby
So it turns out that after vociferously denying it, Rand Paul wants to charge seniors a $2,000 deductible for their Medicare after all. But he will only do it for people under 55, (even the ones who have lost their jobs and have little hope of becoming gainfully employed again, apparently.) They need to be “adults” and step up and solve the problem of high health care costs for sick and dying old people. (Far be it for Dr Paul to suggest that doctors might pitch in on that — after all, they “deserve to make a comfortable living.”)
“I’m not talking about changing the deductible for anyone who gets Medicare currently,” Paul told Cavuto. “But I am saying younger people — probably 55 and under.”
“We need people who will stand up like adults, admit to the problems, and try to fix these problems,” Paul added. “Not on the backs of current senior citizens, but on the next generation that comes forward.”
No word on where people who collect 12,000 a year and cannot work are supposed to get the money, but perhaps they can do some bake sales in the nursing homes.
The idea that the problem with Medicare is irresponsibility on the part of elderly patients is absurd. The system is broken and I’m sure there is overuse and waste and ridiculous over-spending, but it is not the fault of the senior citizens who use it. They follow their doctors’ advice and spend much of their lives battling their various illnesses and infirmities. It is ridiculous to say that they will make “smarter” choices if they have to pay more out of pocket. Unless they have a medical degree, people with the panoply of illnesses these people have are in no position to shop for the better health care bargain. To add to all that with more stress about how they are going to pay a large deductible every year is simple cruelty.
But then cruelty toward the most vulnerable people in society is what old Rand is all about.
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