Abstract
Medicare was a major issue during the 2012 American presidential campaigns. Mitt Romney and President Barrack Obama agreed that some crucial changes needed to be done on the program. Notable elements of the president’s Medicare plan included the proposals to increase premiums for seniors, the need to cut the program costs, changing the eligibility age for Medicare, and ensuring the longevity of the program by increasing its lifeline. Notable elements of Romney’s plan on Medicare included the need to repackage the program, increasing incentives available to the beneficiaries, a proposal to shift the cost of receiving service from the users to the government, reducing the incentives offered to seniors depending on their financial stability, and a proposal to cut the program’s cost’s by creating multiple plans that will bring competition.
Introduction
Medicare refers to the national health public health scheme for persons aged 65 and over in the United States. This program was one of the elements that appeared prominently during the last presidential campaigns pitting President Barrack Obama of the Democratic Party and Mitt Romney of the Republican Party (Jacobson & Sanders, 2012). With the cost of accessing health care services being a big challenge in the United States, President Obama introduced a number of reforms in the country’s delivery system with a great focus on the aged population. On the other hand, Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan planned to use some o the challenges that the program was facing as a tool to block the president’s bid for a second term in office (Pickert, 2012).
The plans on Medicare that the two candidates laid down created a huge debate with regard to its future. They both believed that there were some crucial changes that needed to be done on the program but largely differed on the exact areas that were to be improved. One of the biggest challenges that created the benchmark for both plans was the fact that the government had earlier announced that the program is likely to lack the ability to meet its financial obligations within the next two decades (Pickert, 2012).
Discussion
According to President Obama, Romney did not have honest interests towards the future of Medicare because he planned to convert it into a voucher system. In his plan, the president was quick to refute any claims that the program would be insolvent any time soon by adding eight more years to the previously projected time (Pickert, 2012). He further added that his government would ensure that health care cover became more affordable, especially to the aging population that was constantly becoming a burden to their supporters with huge medical bills. On the other hand, Romney’s plan was considered as one that intended to end the program completely by the democrats (Jacobson & Sanders, 2012). Their main reason for this argument was because they believed republicans were fond of meeting their objectives using first-class support.
President Obama’s plan
One of the notable elements in the president’s plan was increased premiums for retired citizens with financial stability (Alonso-Zaldivar, 2012). The essence of Medicare is increasing accessibility to health care services among the aging population that is highly unproductive and with little sources of income. Second, the president did not consider making complete changes with regard to the way the program was being applied. He was focusing a lot on the need to cut the program costs in order to increase its lifeline (Alonso-Zaldivar, 2012). However, it was not clear about the strategies that his government would use to achieve this feat bearing in mind that his last budget had show major shifts in the cost of Medicare.
Some of the ways that the president intended to achieve this goal was by reducing the amount paid to various service providers and increasing taxation on the people enjoying the services. Baby boomers were the main beneficiaries targeted. The second element in President Obama’s plan was the proposal to change the eligibility age for Medicare. The minimum age for Medicare recipients at the time was 65, and the proposal was to raise it to 67 (Alonso-Zaldivar, 2012). The third element of the plan was the health care law that sought to increase the amount of money paid by working citizens earning over $200,000 and did not have any medical cover. The fourth element of the president’s plan was ensuring the longevity of the program with regard to helping the aged population remain in their homes without considering the need to move to specialized care facilities.
Romney’s Medicare plan
One of the notable elements about this plan was the proposal by Romney that Medicare should be repackaged to include fixed benefits for the users that would allow them to buy a cover plan of their choice (LoGiurato, 2012). This meant that the beneficiaries would have the choice of the insurance plan they want and not anything universal. In addition, Romney intended to have on board, insurance providers that would offer rates within the same range as the Medicare rates (Kliff, 2012). The second element of this plan was the increased incentives available to the beneficiaries based on the payment plan they would choose. According to the proposal, choosing a higher premium plan would allow the beneficiary to only pay the additional costs in case the medical bill passes the amount provided as support (LoGiurato, 2012).
On the other hand, choosing a lower premium plan would allow the beneficiary to use the excess money to cater for other medical costs. The third notable element of Romney’s Medicare plan was the proposal to shift the cost of receiving service from the users to the government (Kliff, 2012). However, this plan would come at an additional cost if the rates provided by the private sector were lesser. The fourth notable element in the plan was the proposal to reduce the incentives offered to financially stable seniors and increasing those offered to those with lesser financial muscle (LoGiurato, 2012). The other notable element was the desire to reduce the program’s cost’s by creating multiple plans in a bid to offer competition. According to Romney, this would have ensured the provision of high-quality services because the competition would push the service providers to improve the efficiency of their delivery systems (Kliff, 2012).
Conclusion
Medicare dominated the 2102 presidential campaigns in the United States. Health care is a very important element in every society, and the two candidates did not ignore its importance during their bids to lead the world’s most powerful country. The issues raised with regard to this program were geared towards ensuring that senior American citizens receive the best quality health care services at an affordable rate. Although Romney and his team felt that the whole program needed an overhaul, President Obama managed to win the trust of most Americans by reassuring them of its longevity and proposed plans to reduce its costs. Plans by both candidates had some feasible strategies for the countries health care, but Romney failed to win the trust of most Americans on this issue because he failed to provide any form of assurance with regard to its future.
References
Alonso-Zaldivar, R. (2012). Obama Medicare Plan: No Voucher but Maybe a Bill. Web.
Jacobson, L., & Sanders, K. (2012). Obama Says Romney Wants to Turn Medicare into a Voucher Program. Web.
Kliff, S. (2012). Study: Under a Romney-Like Medicare Plan, Seniors Face Higher Costs. Web.
LoGiurato, B. (2012). Here’s What Obama and Mitt Romney Really Want to Do about Medicare. Web.
Pickert, K. (2012). The Romney-Ryan plan for Medicare: What it Means for Seniors. Web.