Monterey Bay Forum

To cut the huge federal deficit of $ 14 trillion, we must engage in entitlement reform. Ryan’s budget plan which includes entitlement reform is bold and imaginative.

The time is ripe to try out Ryan’s “premium care” health care on a trial basis. Can Ryan’s “premium care” plan provide senior citizens with quality medical care at an affordable price for taxpayers?

Let’s ask Congress to implement Ryan’s “premium care” plan on a small, trial basis. Akin to the school vouchers for 1,700 Washington DC students which Congress authorized, Congress can set up a block grant to test the popularity and success of Ryan’s plan.

What the Ryan plan is: Per the Ryan “premium support” plan, each enrollee has a fixed supplement paid by the government directly to the private insurance plan chosen by the individual. The fixed supplement is adjusted by age, income and health status. The Ryan plan is quite similar to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan which Congress gets. In the FEHBP plan the government contributes 72% of the average premium. In the Ryan plan the average supplement is roughly $15,000 per individual and raises are tied to inflation in the general economy.

Let’s see if Ryan’s plan is popular with seniors and how well it works: Offer any senior age 55+ with current private health insurance the opportunity to switch to Ryan’s “premium care” plan. Publicize the plan. Let all seniors who qualify and sign up via internet.

The number who sign up will indicate how popular the plan is with seniors over age fifty-five. Then, on a lottery basis, randomly select 2,000 seniors. Then put the pedal to the metal and see how well the plan works.

I, for one, would jump at the chance. I’m in my 60’s, work as a licensed psychologist and have private health insurance. I like working and don’t plan to stop. I also realize that so long as I work and have private health insurance I can stay off the rolls of Medicare.

I plan to have private medical insurance as long as possible. Why? My doctors do not take new Medicare patients. A 2008 survey found that seniors have considerable difficulty finding physicians who will take Medicare. I don’t want a Panel of Fifteen bureaucrats — whether it’s ObamaCare of Medicare – to ration my medical care or that of others. Philosophically I don’t want the federal government via ObamaCare taking over one sixth of the economy.

I, as many working seniors do, want choice. I’d like the voluntary choice to try out Ryan’s “premium care” program. Right behind me are the 76 million Baby Boomers who are starting to retire. They too may want to, or feel they must continue to work, given the hair cut their retirement suffered.