Really?
Would the cost be 4/1 if there was no Medicaid?
I’m sick of people who decide it’s suddenly perfectly fine to raid the accounts of those who paid, for those who don’t.
You have no Medicaid or Medicare account.
Period.
The moneys you paid in went either directly to then-current recipients or into the general fund (where it was spent) via a purchase of a special Treasury bond from the Treasury.
The only things guaranteeing your Medicare/Medicaid benefits are:
a) the government’s willingness to raise taxes, borrow money, print money, or reduce benefits; and
b) the public’s willingness to put up with any of that
The people you should be sick of are those politicians who used these Ponzi schemes to play you for a sucker to get re-elected.
YMMV
I’ve not studied it in detail, but I don’t think the 25% number even includes Medicaid which is a separate budget item. Medicaid has always been paid for out of state and federal general revenues.
The Medicare program began as a mild Ponzi scheme and was made even less viable by increased lifespan and expensive medical technology developed in the last 45+ years.
That’s why the govt considers the “death panels” so vital. Anything that reduces the lifespan makes a HUGE improvement in the financial projections for both Medicare and SocSec.