Dear Editor,
In “President Obama’s Medicare Proposals,” (New York Times September 24, 2011) the editor outlined Obama’s $248 billion cut from Medicare by increasing premiums and reducing payments to providers and drug companies. As a way to curb the amount of health care usage, a surcharge for private Medigap policies will be provided to cover cost-sharing for doctor and outpatient care.
Although this is far from universal health care, given the current governmental deficit, this is a good step towards balancing the budget and generating awareness for Medicare usage. With that said, improvement could be made by increasing premiums for the wealthy in the near future.
I believe that cutting payments to providers and drug companies would lead to eventually having patients picking up the tab to cover the difference. Thus, there should be more initiative to guide Medicare beneficiaries on efficient health care spending in a way that would deal with their health issues without further wasting government funds.
Sincerely,
Brian Tian,
Berkeley, CA
Although I agree that steps need to be taken to reduce the government deficit, the way in which the Medicare budget is reduced is as important the initiative itself. For example, I am in agreement with the current deficit reduction plan in its premium increases for higher-income enrollees. If we are worried about Medicare beneficiaries at all in our pursuit to decrease the deficit, then we need to ensure that the deficit cuts are felt differently along the socio-economic gradient. Social equity should not be disregarded in our quest for long-term financial stability. Furthermore, I agree with Brian Tian that the Medicare budget cuts need to coincide with an increased education initiative, as it is education that allows people to navigate through changes in health care funding.
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