Mar 15, 2017

I Knew There Was Something Good About Trumpcare!

     Matt Fuller noticed something interesting hidden in the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projection of the effects of the Republican plan for replacing the Affordable Care Act. The CBO is projecting that Social Security expenditures over the time period 2017-2026 would decrease by $3 billion under the GOP plan. The explanation is that more people will die under the Republican plan, about 17,000 in 2018 rising to 29,000 in 2026 alone. People can't draw Social Security benefits if they're dead.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Republican Insurance Plan. R.I.P.

Anonymous said...

I basically don't understand why this isn't headline on CNN, MSNBC, Wapo, NYT etc. We simply don't care about poor people in this country.

Anonymous said...

Ah yes. The GOP death panels finally show up.

Anonymous said...

Flash! This just in! Many people will pay over $500 for their smart phone and over $70 monthly for cell phone service instead of buying health insurance!!!

Also, from this reporter... many avoid buying auto insurance and renters insurance because, after all, nothing bad will happen to them! Word on the street is they really need that money saved to spend at Starbucks, cable/satellite TV, the lottery, and internet access.

Coming up in the next hour, how to prioritize and budget for your current and future needs. Research shows that planning for the future will extend your life! Stay tuned...

Anonymous said...

It's the roundabout way of gutting social security disability without actually touching it. More people die waiting for hearings or after getting SSD, saves money. Also, if you gut medicaid, less people have the ability to afford to get treatment, which also means more claimants get denied due to lack of evidence. This too saves money in the form of less SSD beneficiaries.

Anonymous said...

@11:18 ha ha ha, so witty, but does your wit extend to knowledge? How about the fact that $1 of every $5 is spent on healthcare? By your logic we should all quit going to the doctor until prices drop. Damn you are hilarious!

Storm said...

Please tune in tomorrow for another episode of "As the Turnip Turns"!!!

When you elect a clown don't be surprised when all you get is a circus.

Anonymous said...

@12:31

If you have a solution for cost of healthcare, I'm listening. There are plenty of options; tort reform, subsidize medical school, tax credits for medical professionals, updating HIPAA, ERISA reform, student loan debt reduction specifically targeted for medical students, etc.

But nobody is talking about it. It isn't addressed in the ACA, and does not appear to be addressed in the new legislation. If you are suggesting the cost of healthcare is high because of regulations of the insurance industry, I'm not sure how this would change the actual cost of healthcare, just the cost of coverage (At best. I am doubtful that the insurers will pass the lion's share of cost reduction to their clients).

Anonymous said...

perhaps having a private industry that profits (greatly) running healthcare delivery and having affordable coverage for all are incompatible things...

Anonymous said...

@11:18 who pays for your healthcare?

Anonymous said...

Actually, while technically true that the dead can't draw benefits, many of the dead will have eligible spouses or children who can, and perhaps for a long time.

Anonymous said...

Wow, you guys are really on to something. I wonder when the first actuaries were used in SSA planning and management... Duh?? Hospitals and doctors are making unreasonable amounts of money for the services they deliver. Want to see the death rate go down? Close a hospital. Seriously. California doctor strike, less people died. How about that?

Anonymous said...

Or we can look at actual facts:

One conclusion from this work, published on Monday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, is that the gap in life spans between rich and poor widened from 2001 to 2014. The top 1 percent in income among American men live 15 years longer than the poorest 1 percent; for women, the gap is 10 years.Apr 11, 2016

Anonymous said...

My guess is a substantial majority of the 17k and 29k voted for Trump in the last election, just like the majority of the folks that will become uninsured under Trumpcare voted for him.

Anonymous said...

@4:12

Or it could be that there was less documentation of deaths given the doctors were on strike.

Anonymous said...

News Flash! The poor and middle class have to spend their money which goes into the real economy and helps us all. The super rich invest their money in derivatives and high speed trading, or whatever the newest bubble in the economy is before they skin the stupid money or take their taxpayer bailout. Keep concentrating all of the money and power at the very very top. Not only will we lose our democracy but some of you mocking the poor might end up losing your pension plan or healthcare. Prediction. Most of America will end up owing their soul to the healthcare industry just like the old company store. Our estates will pass to the 21st century American Ceasar.

Anonymous said...

@4:12 Sorry, but that argument just does not make sense. If you have diabetics not getting their insulin, people with serious heart problems not getting treated, cancer patients not getting the appropriate therapy, etc., many more will die before their time and likely with more suffering. My message to Congress would be this. Be a hero. Save lives. Vote against the Republican Insurance Plan.

Anonymous said...

CBO isn't explicit about why it estimates that the ACHA will lead to slightly lower Social Security spending; but a reasonable guess is that it results from "job lock." Without another source of health coverage, more people would stick unwillingly with their employers rather than file for Social Security at 62. It'd be nice if CBO would confirm this assumption, which is (sorry) less dramatic than the "more people will die" story.

Anonymous said...

Love you 11;18 and 12:39.
1:06 you are right about the high cost of medical education. And 7:35 you nailed it. We are continuing down this road of income disparity, and it's going to blow up in our faces.