Saving Social Security?
Now, you know that I never blog about politics.
And no, I’m not about to start now.
While I was blog visiting today I came upon this truly
enlightened post
by that Famous Fun and Flirty Floridian L of Random Speak.
I just had to share it with anyone stopping by here.
Enjoy!
May 8th, 2005 at 8:52 am
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/politics/08drugs.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1115525290-NzM+EXIsP9gU9lNSr6vVtw
The New York Times
May 8, 2005
Under New Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, Food Stamps May Be Reduced
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON, May 7 - Elderly people with low incomes may lose some of their food stamps if they sign up for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, the Bush administration said Saturday.
When Medicare begins covering drugs in January, older Americans will spend less of their own money on drugs and will therefore have more to spend on food, reducing their need for food stamps, officials said.
The new reading of the Medicare law, set forth in a document sent to Congressional offices this week, comes just as federal officials begin a nationwide campaign to persuade low-income people to apply for the drug benefit.
The document, addressed to elderly and disabled people who receive food stamps, says, “You may qualify for extra help paying for your Medicare prescription drug costs.” But it adds, “If you qualify for extra help, your food stamp benefits may decline.”
Dr. Mark B. McClellan, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, defended the policy. “Medicare beneficiaries will get comprehensive help with their drug costs and will have significantly more resources for all their other basic necessities, including food,” he said. The savings on prescription drugs will more than offset any loss of food stamps, so “low-income seniors will be better off,” he said.
In debate on the prescription drug bill in 2003, members of Congress said the high cost of drugs was forcing many older Americans to choose between food and medicine.
The document, prepared by the Health and Human Services Department, tells Medicare beneficiaries: “With the Medicare prescription drug coverage, you may see your food stamp benefits go down as you spend less on drugs. Using the new Medicare benefit means you will have more cash to spend on food that you used to spend on prescription drugs. If you get the $10 minimum food stamp benefit, your benefits may end. However, the extra cash you will have to spend on food makes up for not getting as much in food stamps.”
The drug benefit will be available to individuals with monthly income of $1,197 or less and married couples with income of $1,604 or less.
The guide gives this example of how the new law would affect a hypothetical Medicare beneficiary, Mrs. Smith, who receives $798 a month in Social Security. She does not receive Medicaid. She now pays $147 a month for medical expenses, including $51 for three prescription drugs. Her monthly rent is $421.
Under the Medicare drug plan, Mrs. Smith will not have to pay a monthly premium or a deductible. She will have a $3 co-payment on each drug, for $9 a month. Her medical spending will decline to $105 a month, from $147, for a saving of $42.
But Mrs. Smith’s monthly food stamp allotment, $27, will be reduced to $10 a month, because her “out-of-pocket medical costs have gone down.” The administration says she will come out ahead because “she still has $25 more cash in her pocket - $42 medical savings, less the $17 decrease in food stamps.”
May 8th, 2005 at 3:56 pm
I don’t understand the problem. Anyone who has to take as many pills as some of us oldies do gets a lot of nourishment that way. Maybe not $17 worth, but some. Empty calories, perhaps (i think they may put sugar in some of them). Besides we’re old and not good for raising soldiers anymore so what’s wrong with cutting back on our feed?
May 9th, 2005 at 9:52 am
Good morning. Stopped by to say HI and welcome home. I enjoyed reading your about your trip.
Have a good day! Toni
May 10th, 2005 at 8:38 pm
had trouble posting comments yesterday….
you are so sweet. thanks for the compliment!
May 13th, 2005 at 5:11 pm
This article is from the May 10 CounterPunch
A slightly shorter version will appear in the May 11
issue of the Butte Weekly.
Mrs. O’Hara’s Windfall
Jackie Corr
http://www.counterpunch.org/corr05102005.html
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MRS. O’HARA’S WINDFALL
Jackie Corr
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Surprise!
And on Saturday, the day before Mother’s Day.
That’s when the White House announced that as Medicare begins covering prescription drugs next January, older and poorer Americans will receive a windfall. But there’s a catch.
The White House also says these older and poorer Americans will spend less of their own money on prescription drugs so they will have more cash to spend on food. But there’s another catch.
Take the case of Mrs. Molly O’Hara.
Right here in Butte, Montana, there is an elderly lady whom I will call Molly O’Hara. Now Mrs. O’Hara is a long time widower.
Her husband Mike died about fifty years ago of miners consumption which means Mike’s death meant no benefits for
Molly O’Hara. So she struggles on with her $675 a month Social Security check. In addition she is on Medicare and receives $44 a month in food stamps.
In January 2006, Mrs.O’Hara will be 91 years old. But, according to the White House, her medical costs will be going down, overall from $150 a month to $107. This is due to the $43 dollars she will be saving on prescription drugs.
And here’s the catch.
The White House then says, come January, Mrs.O’Hara’s monthly food stamp bonanza of $44 will be cut by $27 dollars.
She will now receive only $17 in monthly food stamps. Fair is only fair says the White House..
And there’s another catch.
According to the White House, the $43 dollar prescription drug benefit means Mrs. O’Hara will come out ahead for Molly O’Hara will have more cash then she did before the new Medicare program..
Why? Well it’s simple.
Mrs.O’Hara will be a whopping $14 ahead next January. Still she could be doing better.
Not mentioned by the White House are the estimated billions the pharmaceutical companies will reap in a decade due to the non-competitive bidding on drug prices mandated in the new Medicare law..
So you take Mrs. O’Hara’s $43 savings from prescription drug costs and subtract the $27 in food stamps that she no longer receives. That adds up to Mrs. O’Hara’s $14 windfall.
And, as far as Mrs. O’Hara’s $27 cut in food stamps goes, we all to pay our fair share, as the White House likes to point out.
And the White House says those high income tax bracket cuts, the cuts the big drug company CEO’s relish, will cost $1 trillion or so over the next decade. And a trillion is a lot of money
And then there’s running the $100 billion or so per year war machine which costs a lot of money too.. .
So why shouldn’t Mrs. O’Hara do her part and kick in $27?
Which means Molly must share the anticipated $43 windfall she will save buying prescription drugs next January by giving up $27 in food stamps.
And, as they say in the White House, it’s only fair.
Jackie Corr - Butte, Montana
jcorr@bigskyhsd.com
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Add up the numbers as Bush pulls Granny Smith
out of his magician’s hat.
fact sheet
The new fact sheet asks a hypothetical question:
“Will I lose my food stamp benefits if I apply and qualify
for extra help paying for the new Medicare prescription
drug coverage?”
“With the Medicare prescription drug coverage, you may see
your food stamp benefits go down” and even possibly eliminated.”
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