Posted on 03/13/2012 11:14:21 AM PDT by justiceseeker93
Gov. Mitt Romney, who turns 65 today, does not plan to enroll in Medicare, a program he has promised to transform if he wins the White House.
The former Massachusetts governor's campaign confirmed to POLITICO Monday that Romney plans to remain on a private health insurance plan and not enroll in Medicare, which provides health coverage to millions of Americans...
The decision puts Romney in a tiny minority. A vast majority of seniors chooose to participate in Medicare.
Nearly all seniors are automatically enrolled in Medicare Part A, which covers hospital care. But they can choose not to use it.
But 95 percent of senoirs choose to enroll in Medicare Part B, which covers physician services once they're eligible...
Medicare is likely to be a significant issue in the presidential race, and Democrats could use Romney's decision to demonstrate that he is out of touch with the average American senior.
If attacked by the 'Rats for this personal decision, Romney could accurately say that he is leading by doing his bit to reduce the national deficit.
Obviously, the writer of this POLITICO piece has a discernable bias in favor of the Medicare program as is, commenting on Romney's decision in a snarky tone. Hopefully, most voters will consider Romney's personal health insurance coverage as a private, non-political matter - unless and until he enrolls in the gold-plated government insurance program if he should become president.
I wish I was rich enough to be forced onto Medicare. My insurance policy requires that I must sign up for Medicare part-B to stay in the ex-employers group insurance.
When we moved to a new town, I had heckuva time finding a doctor who would accept new Medicare patients.
“he showed some guts here to publicly announce that he doesn’t want or need Medicare”
I agree. Maybe Romney has more “core conviction” then some suggest, and what better way to express his disdain for a bloated entitlement society than rejecting the granddaddy of all federal programs?! Good for him.
Big deal - if he does not participate in Medicare Parts B & D he will save about $150 in monthly premiums. Healthy Medicare participants’ premiums help subsidize those who use their Medicare benefits.
So, in fact - Mr. Healthy Romney is being a scrooge. He obviously does not understand the principles of risk management (i.e. medical insurance).
Being on TriCare Prime right now and turning 65 on the 4th of April, I had to sign up for Medicare Part B as part of transferring to TriCare for Life (Or until Obama takes it away with an executive order).
bully for him, I guess he’s not taking social security since MEDICARE is required if you do
Just decoupling the programs would give more people a choice
but then, if you have a couple hundred million in trust funds, you have many more noble choices
Good. Means testing is a rational place to start fixing it.
I respect him for doing so.
Ping!!!
That’s almost a thread hijack. Lol.
I don’t care what Romney deserves, deserves got nothin to do with it. WE need Nobama.
Yes, that is extremely common, if not almost always the case. Once government becomes an insurer, private insurance carriers tend to run away. The result is, or nearly is, a single payer monopoly for government within that area.
...I had a heckuva time finding a doctor who would accept new Medicare patients.
That problem stems from the federal government as well. Since Medicare doesn't reimburse doctors adequately for their services, doctors are dropping out of Medicare in droves. The financial cracks in the program are becoming more obvious to both patients and physicians.
What a sacrifice... LOL
Just a quibble, but Social Security is more appropriately called "the granddaddy." It was passed in 1935, while Medicare didn't come in until 1965.
Just a quibble, but Social Security is more appropriately called "the granddaddy." It was passed in 1935, while Medicare didn't come in until 1965.
But, as they say, even a broken clock in a junkyard is right twice a day.
Plus, contrast what he did upon turning 65 to what a Democrat running for president would probably have done. The Democrat would have held a press conference to show off his spanking new Medicare card!
Isn’t that special!!!
We, the Peons and Peasants, haven’t the same freedoms , have we? Especially the freedom of choice-the one where we might want to choose whether we want SS OR Medicare...
http://thefundforpersonalliberty.org/medicare-lawsuit-update/index.html
but our betters...who have forgotten for whom they work..have decided Flyover Country is to good for such choice.
Exactly. And IIRC, the "coupling" was done completely by bureaucrats, not by Congress. Congress can and should prohibit "coupling" by specific legislation. Hopefully the GOP candidates can be questioned on that issue.
Has nothing to do with being wealthy, just core convictions.</sarcasm>
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.