We hear all kinds of people in today’s political environment talking about Medicare for All and it being all the health insurance a person will need.  Well, I have Medicare and believe me … it is not all the health insurance that I need, and I’m a pretty healthy guy.  Now most of these people are on the left and I don’t think that even they believe what they are trying to sell to Americans.  I believe they are simply looking for the easy votes since most Americans will not self-educate when it comes to claims such as this.

“If it sounds good … hell let’s buy it … It does not matter that it may be nothing more than a ‘pipe dream’ … it sure sounds good.”  The Democrats that are preaching Medicare for All are simply looking to beat Donald Trump in 2020 and they will tell whatever lie they have to in order to make that happen.  They will back up these lies with all kinds of what seems to be justifiable calculations.  Well, my granddaddy told me a long time ago, “Son figures don’t lie … but liars sure can figure.”  I believe that and hope to prove it here even though I will have to use some figures,  I assure you they are  some of the most honest figures I know of.  Oh, and by the way … I don’t think for one minute that it is only Democrats who lie to get votes to get into office.  Almost all politicians, regardless of party, are guilty.

Let me begin my informing you that I am not a Medicare Expert.  While I did work as a financial planner for most of my adult life and was a Certified Financial Planner up until I retired in June 2018, I did learn some Medicare basics … but I would not consider myself an expert.  So please, don’t take my word for anything.  Do your own studies.

Before getting into what Medicare is and is not … let me quote you some numbers I uncovered.

Medicare/Medicaid/Private Healthcare Spending 2017

Remember, first of all that Medicare is from the Federal level of government while Medicaid is a state driven program for the poor.  The numbers below come from the National Health Expenditure (NHE) Data that can be found at CMS.gov.

In 2017 National Health Expenditures grew by 3.9% to about $3.5 Trillion Dollars and accounted for almost 18% of GDP.  This would be about $10,739 per person.  Of this $3.5 Trillion …

• Medicare Spending grew by 4.2% to $706 Billion (about 20% of total NHE)
• Medicaid Spending grew by 2.9% to $582 Billion (about 17% of total NHE), and
• Private Health Insurance Spending grew by 4.2% to $1,184 Billion (yea over a Trillion and about 34% of total NHE).

Now it has been estimated by some folks a whole lot smarter than me that “Medicare for All” could cost between $25 and $32 Trillion over the next 10-year period.  Think about that … at $706 billion per year now (current Medicare Expenditure) … the cost over 10 years if things don’t change would be about $7.1 trillion — and these folks wanting “Medicare for All” want to increase that 3.5 to 4.5 times the current costs to between $25 and $32 Trillion.

How would we pay for it?  Heck, you may be asking how we are paying for it now.  I hope to shed some light on that as well.

How do we pay for Medicare Now?

In 2018 there were 155,760,000 of the 327,200,000 people in America Employed.  The median income for the employed people in America was estimated to be $31,786 per person in 2018.  Under the current Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) each person is required to pay 6.2% of income (up to $128,400 of income) into social security and 1.45% into Medicare (with no Limit on earned income) for a total of 7.65% on the first $128,400 and 1.45% on anything above $128,400.  In addition the person’s employer is also supposed to pay in the same for the person.  Therefore the amount going to Medicare per working person is going to be about 2.9% of that working persons income.

If we multiply a median income of $31,786 by 2.9% the amount being paid for each working person into Medicare would be approximately $921.79 per year.  If we multiply this times 155,760,000 workers today the amount being paid into Medicare would be approximately $143,578,010,400.  Yes, that’s about $143.6 Billion.  However the Tax Policy Center.Org tells us the actual amount collected in 2017 was about $255.9 Billion. Which number is true, I have no idea … but I will use the Governments number of $255.9 Billion in future calculations.

What was the Medicare Expenditure in 2017?  $706 Billion … about $450 billion more than what was brought in.  Is it no wonder why we have a deficit now of over $22 Trillion dollars and still growing?

The fact is we are not bringing in enough money now to cover Medicare claims … and when we have Medicare for All it will only be worse.

The Nuts and Bolts of Medicare

Now let’s take a look at just what is covered with Medicare and see if this would be good for all, as well as what it cost when you finally do retire and start to use it.

First what does it cost per individual (Premiums and Other Costs)?

We have already determined that it costs 2.90% of your income (part from you and part from your employer) during your lifetime of working.  This means that if you earn a Million Dollars over your lifetime you will pay in about $29,000 (from you and the employer).  If you earn $5 Million you will pay in about $145,000.  Isn’t it interesting that the person who paid in $145,000 would receive no larger benefit that the person who pays in $29,000 or less.  This is what is meant partially by the term socialism.  An Equalization or “spreading” of the wealth.

Another soap box for another day!

What happens once you are retired (age 65 at least) and getting Medicare?

It is important to know that there are currently 4 parts to Medicare.  You have Medicare Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D.  Medicare parts A & B are the original Medicare and where I will focus most of this article – though I will describe briefly each part.  This is what most people think of when they think of Medicare.

Medicare Part A

This covers …  Hospital Insurance

• Inpatient care in a hospital
• Minimal skilled nursing facility care
• Hospice care
• Home health care

Medicare Part B

This covers …  Medical Insurance

• Medically necessary services or supplies
• Preventative services
• Clinical research
• Ambulance services
• Durable medical equipment
• Mental health services
• Second opinion before surgery
• Limited outpatient medications

Medicare Part C

This is also called “Medicare Advantage” and it covers the following …

• Medicare Part A (hospital insurance)
• Medicare Part B (medical insurance)
• Medicare Part D (prescription Drugs)
• Vision
• Hearing
• Dental
• Health and Wellness programs

Medicare Part D

As stated above this covers …

• Prescription Drugs.

So how much does it all cost once you have retired?

Part A:

The good news is that if you have worked more than 10 years before reaching age 65 the cost of Medicare Part A will be $0.00.  If you have worked between 7.5 and 10 years you will be required to pay $240 per month for Medicare Part A.  If you worked less than 10 years your Medicare Part A monthly premium will be $437 per month.  These expenses are expected to go up as time goes on.

Think about this for a moment … With Medicare for All … if we are considering a family of three (say mom, dad and child) that is not age 65 … would the cost be three times $437 per month (or $1,311 per month … or a family of five … would it be $2,185 per month)?  I don’t know … and those running for president on this platform is certainly not saying!

The bad news is … this is not your only costs when you retire and may need it.  Remember, Part A is for In-hospital services.  There are deductibles that still have to be paid.  This is why many people (the author for one) takes out Medicare Supplement Insurance to have in addition to Medicare.  Medicare does not cover everything.

If you are hospitalized between 1 and 60 days … the deductible is currently $1,364 per hospital stay (not per year).  So if you are in the hospital for 30 days … get out for 90 days and go back in for another 30 days you will pay two deductibles of $1,364 each.  If you happen to be in the hospital 4 times in a year (and many elderly are) you will pay four initial deductibles.

Above I said “Initial Deductible” because if you are in the hospital for longer than 60 days but less than 90 days you will pay $1,364 for the first 60 days and $341 per day for each day over 60 through the 90th day.  If your hospital stay is between 91 and 150 days this will be your deductible costs … $1,364 for the first 60 days, then $341 per day for the next 30 days, then from the 91st through the 150th day … the deductible would go to $682 per day.  Anytime more than 150 days in the hospital you would be required to pay all hospital costs on your own (unless you have a Medicare Supplement Policy that would cover part of the cost for you).

Example:  You have a dread disease that keeps you in the hospital for 175 days at a cost of $1,000 per day for your room alone.  The table below shows your costs and Medicare’s cost for this room:

As you can see, you could end up paying 43% of the entire cost of the room if you rely totally on Medicare from the US Government.  At this point … are you feeling Medicare for all would be a good alternative?  Keep Reading Dear Readers …

I can’t go on without mentioning Nursing Homes since statistics tell us that 1 in 2 Americans over the age of 65 will spend some time in a Nursing Home Facility before death.  The average stay is about 2 years and 15% of the people will actually spend longer than 5 years in a home.  The average cost of a Nursing Home today is about $200 per day (it could be higher in places like New York City, New York or Los Angeles, California and lower in places like Dothan, Alabama or Moss Point, Mississippi).

Here’s the key though … in order for Medicare pay any part of it the Nursing Home must be considered a Skilled Care Facility (most today are custodial care only) and must occur within 3 days of a person leaving the hospital for which Medicare paid some of the bill.  In addition, this is what Medicare will cover:

• Days 1 – 20 = 100% (you pay nothing)
• Days 21 – 100 = You will pay $179.50 per day and Medicare will pick up the rest
• Days 100 + = Medicare pays $0.00 and you pay 100% of the bill.

Example:  Assume a two year stay in a nursing home ending in death of the patient.  Assume further that it is a skilled care facility at a cost of $200 per day.  This is how the bill would be worked out:

In this case … Medicare would pay 4.6% of the total cost and you (or your loved ones) would pay the remaining 95.4% of the cost (unless, of course, you have a supplemental Long-term Care Policy to pick up some of this cost for you).  Let me also say the Medicaid could cover a large portion of this … but only when you spend down enough assets and income to be considered “broke or poor.”

Part B:

We’ve talked enough about Part A – Hospital Coverage … let’s move on to Part B – Medical Coverage.

This is supposed to cover those items that are part of healthcare but that are not part of the actual hospital stay.  You can go back and visit those items above.  There is a premium for this part of Medicare after you retire and very much dependent on income.

If income is less than $170,000 per year for married couples or $85,000 per year for single people the premium is $135.50 per month.  This  is normally deducted from your social security check each month to make sure the government gets it.

If your income is greater than those amounts specified above then your premium for this part of Medicare can range from $189.60 per month to $460.50 per month.  Again, the premium is deducted right out of your social security check.

In addition, Medicare Part B has an annual deductible and annual coinsurance level of payment.

The annual deductible is $185 in 2019.  If your income is less than $1,012 per month (poverty level) then you can avoid this deductible and the coinsurance levels.

The coinsurance amount is 20% of the cost approved by Medicare.  What does this mean?  It simply means that if Medicare pays a necessary medical treatment it will only pay 80% of the approved amount and you will be stuck with the other 20% (if you don’t have an additional policy – aka Medicare Supplement Policy – to cover the cost.)

Example:  Assume you have to have some x-rays before having surgery.  Let’s also assume the clinic doing the x-rays charges $500 for them.  The bill is submitted and Medicare says they will approve $300 for the service.  If that is the case they will pay for 80% or $240.  This would leave you with the remainder of the bill – which could be between $60 and $105.  This next paragraph is critical readers …

To keep your Part B costs down, make sure that your healthcare providers not only take Medicare but also that they “accept assignment.” Doctors or other providers who “accept assignment” agree to accept the amount that Medicare will pay for a visit or service (called Medicare-approved Amount) as payment in full.  So, you would only pay 20% coinsurance (in the case above the remaining $60.00).

Providers who see people with Medicare but do not accept assignment can charge you more.  They can charge you up to 15% more than the Medicare-approved amount, which means that you would pay your usual 20% coinsurance plus up to 15% extra.  In the above example if $300 was the Medicare-approved amount the clinic could actually charge this plus 15% for a total of $345.  Once Medicare paid their 80% of $300 (the Medicare-approved amount or $240) this would leave you the balance of $105 to be paid even though it is greater than 20% of $300.

Here’s another little twist most people to not think of.

I see a Chiropractor weekly and recently learned that through 2018 Medicare would only approve 12 visits per year to a Chiropractor.  However, that is not all.  They only thing they will cover is the cost of the actual adjustment.  They do not cover the actual exam or any x-rays that they Chiropractor may need.  However – and this is kind of weird – if you go to a regular doctor and get the x-rays they will be covered then the chiropractor can request copies.  Folks, that’s how our government thinks … which is why you may not want them to make your medical decisions for you.

As of 2019 the cap for Chiropractor and Physical Therapy has been removed and there is no limit on number of visits.  However, they still only cover the actual adjustments and not the x-ray or exams.

Let me just mention one other thing here … the cost of the x-ray at a doctor or hospital is most likely a heck of a lot more expensive than the cost charged by the chiropractor.  I recently had five x-rays for a total cost of $120 ($20 each) by the chiropractor.  I recently learned on average, X–rays cost $260-$460, varying by provider and geographic location, according to NewChoiceHealth.com.  Yet our government will not cover the cost at the Chiropractor – even though it would cost them less.

Part D:

Before getting into Part C; I will jump ahead to Part D.  Ahh, what would medical treatment even be without drugs and pharmaceuticals?

This part of Medicare is very complex and I strongly recommend you speak to a Medicare Specialist at your insurance company before making any decisions as to whether you are going to use this part of Medicare or if you are going to do something different.  Personally, I chose a prescription plan from another insurer and did not choose this part of Medicare.

The information in the next 12 paragraphs comes from this website:

https://www.mymedicarematters.org/costs/part-d/

Medicare will pay part of the costs of prescription drug coverage for everyone who enrolls in a plan. How much you pay will depend on which prescription drug plan you choose and whether or not you qualify for Extra Help which helps cover the costs of this coverage.  The average nationwide monthly premium for 2019 is $33.19, although plan costs vary depending on the plan you choose and where you live. You will generally only want to choose a plan with low premiums if it also has the lowest overall cost per year, including the costs for the drugs you take.

Remember a plan with a deductible will not pay for your prescriptions until you pay the deductible amount out-of-pocket. The highest deductible a plan can charge in 2019 is $415. Some plans offer $0 deductible and will pay for your prescriptions right away. Other plans may offer a deductible lower than the maximum of $415 like $150 or $250. You will generally only want to choose a plan with a $0 deductible if it also has the lowest overall cost per year, including the costs for the drugs you take.

A co-payment, or copay, is a fixed dollar amount for your prescriptions. For example, you might have to pay $5 for a generic drug, $25 for a “preferred” brand name drug and $40 for a non-preferred brand name drug.

A coinsurance is a percentage of the price of your prescription. Typically plans require coinsurance for drugs listed in higher tiers like tier 4 and tier 5 drugs. For example, if your prescription costs $350, and your coinsurance is 25%, you will pay $87.50.

It is possible that some of your medications require a fixed co-payment and others a coinsurance. Be sure to check the cost of each medication you take with the plan.

You will generally only want to select a plan with low copay’s or coinsurance if it also has the lowest overall annual cost per year, including the costs for the drugs you take.

Each plan places the drugs it will pay for in different levels, called tiers. Each tier has its own copay or coinsurance amount. Your drugs may be included in all the plans in your area, but they could be listed on different tiers with different copay amounts.

I was surprised this past January when I decided to Quit Smoking and chose Chantix as the Drug of choice to help.  The cost was $525.00.  My Medicare Supplement Drug Plan had roughly the same deductible as Medicare Part D – so I had to pay a deductible of $415 and the plan picked up the rest.  However, because it is a Tier 4 drug … I have to pay a copay of $25 for each monthly supply … while my blood pressure medicine only costs me $1 each time I have it refilled (it is a Tier 1 Generic Drug).  Makes me wonder if the Federal Government really wants people to quit smoking (I really don’t think so … but that is another article for another time).

What is the coverage Gap? 

This is the point in your Part D benefit in which most Medicare Part D plans stop paying for your drugs, sometimes called the “doughnut hole.” As of 2011, the doughnut hole has changed. You now will get more help with your drug costs from discounts.

• The 2019 coverage gap discounts include 37% on generics and 75% on brand name drugs. The coverage gap begins when your total drug costs (what you and your plan pay) reaches $3,820.
• If you think your total drug costs may be higher than $3,820 per year, you may want to consider a plan that will help pay for your medications during the coverage gap. There are a small number of Part D plans that will pay for your generic and/or brand name drugs during the coverage gap.

When  does the coverage gap end (catastrophic coverage)? 

In Part D, you and the plan you join share the cost of drugs. The money that you spend is called your out-of-pocket costs. That determines if and when the catastrophic coverage begins. In 2019, catastrophic coverage starts when you have paid $5,100 out of pocket, about $7,654 in total drug costs. If your total drug costs are more than $7,654 in 2019, all the Medicare Prescription Drug Plans will cover at least 95% of your drug costs for the rest of that year.

• Once you have spent $5,100 of your own money for drugs in 2019, you would then pay 5% or less of the cost of your drugs for the rest of the calendar year.
• There is no cap or limit on the amount of drugs you can obtain after you have spent $5,100 out of pocket.

Your drug plan will keep track of your out-of-pocket drug costs. They will send you a report each month you buy drugs.

Medicare divides drug costs into two different groups:

• Your “true” out-of-pocket costs – these are drug costs that count toward the start of your catastrophic coverage. In 2019, this includes the 50% discount amount the drug manufacturer pays for brand name drugs while you are in the coverage gap.
• All other drugs you bought that do not count toward your catastrophic coverage.

As you can see … it can be quite complex on the Drug part of the plan.  Readers, talk to an expert before trying to go through this on your own.

 

Part C:  Medicare Advantage Plan

What is Medicare Part C?

A Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO) is another Medicare health plan choice you may have as part of Medicare. Medicare Advantage Plans, sometimes called “Part C” or “MA Plans,” are offered by private companies approved by Medicare.

If you join a Medicare Advantage Plan, the plan will provide all of your Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance) coverage. Medicare Advantage Plans may offer extra coverage, such as vision, hearing, dental, and/or health and wellness programs. Most include Medicare prescription drug coverage (Part D).

Medicare pays a fixed amount for your care every month to the companies offering Medicare Advantage Plans. These companies must follow rules set by Medicare. However, each Medicare Advantage Plan can charge different out-of-pocket costs and have different rules for how you get services (like whether you need a referral to see a specialist or if you have to go to only doctors, facilities, or suppliers that belong to the plan for non‑emergency or non-urgent care). These rules can change each year.

Every Medicare Part C plan must have an out-of-pocket maximum to protect you. Medicare sets the highest allowable amount for this OOP maximum each year. The Medicare Part C OOP is $6700. This means that the most you will spend on that plan for Part A and B services is $6700.  (Part D spending is separate.) You will find many Part C Medicare plans that match this, but plans can also set a lower OOP maximum.

When reviewing a potential Medicare Part C plan, look at the OOP maximum on that plan. If you have a year of bad health with lots of spending on copays and coinsurance, do you have enough set aside in a rainy day savings fund to meet that maximum? If not, find a plan with a lower out of pocket maximum, or choose Medigap, which has far less spending on the back end.

Many people ask us to compare Original Medicare vs Medicare Advantage plans. Original Medicare does not have any OOP maximum to protect you. You could pay that 20% forever. So if you cannot afford the more comprehensive Medigap plans or Medicare Supplement plans as they are sometimes called, then a Medicare Part C plan at least has an OOP cap to protect you. For many folks, this makes Medicare Part C coverage a more attractive option that Original Medicare alone.

Really, when you think about it … Medicare Part C is nothing more than a Medicare Supplement plan that is offered by US Government Approved Insurance Companies … not the US Government itself.  To be eligible for Part C … you must still enroll in part A and Part B and pay the Part B premium in addition to the part C Premium.  The part C premium will likely be somewhat less than a regular Medicare Supplement Plan because you have allowed the government to choose through HMO and PPO type arrangements who your doctor and clinic will be.  Remember Medigap Plans and Medicare Supplement Plans are the same thing.

Have I confused you enough?  The government makes it confusing because the confused mind is so damned easy to control and they know it.

The Bottom Line …

In the long run, Medicare for All is going to cost us all a hell of a lot more!  Currently there are about 47.8 million people in America that is age 65 or older as of July 1, 2015 … meaning they are likely all getting Medicare.  This number of “senior citizen’s” is expected to increase to 98.2 million by the year 2060 (that’s close to the size of the Millennial Generation today).  Of this number – 19.7 million people will be age 85 or older.  Facts and Features – May 2017

People are living longer, and age 85+ is the fastest growing segment of our population now.  That means even more healthcare and long-term nursing home care is going to be needed by these individuals.  One Article I read indicated that most babies born today should live will beyond 100 years of age and half of the people alive today could live to be 100 or more.

You’ve learned from reading above that there is not enough money coming in now to pay all those who benefit from Medicare today.  As a reminder … roughly $256 Billion is being brought in through taxation and $706 Billion is being paid out in benefits leaving an annual shortage in the most recent year of about $450 Billion.  This number is going to increase as things stand now … and if we go to Medicare for All if will increase exponentially.

According to Pew Research there are about 150 million people of America’s 327.2 million in the workforce today.  With more and more people retiring every day … I just don’t see how it is possible that the US Government – namely the House of Representatives, the Senate and those few running for President on the Democratic ticket can honestly believe that Medicare for All is even realistic … but they do.  It does not matter to them that the cost is going to exceed between $25 Trillion and $32 Trillion in the first 10 years of the program, and that our debt is going to skyrocket out of site (as though it hasn’t already).

Don’t fret … they will get their way – if we continue to sit idly by and do nothing.  They will push a program “Medicare for All” and it will be approved by generations that follow mine and yours.  I can’t assure you that it will be Medicare as we know of it today … but it will be some form of Government health care that is called Medicare and it will be for all.  It amazes me that we – as a country – still has not learned to learn from our past mistakes.  I believe it was Einstein that said “continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.”  Wasn’t Obama Care (or the Affordable Health Care Act) supposed to be the “One for All” solution.  I DIDN’T WORK EITHER.

Take a look at this chart and you will see how many are working today and what generation they are from.

I hope you can see above that Millennials is the largest segment of the working population today (54 million of them).  Gen Xers only led the working population for a short three year period before losing out to Millennials (52.8 million now for Gen Xers).  At the time this chart was done there were still 45.1 million Baby Boomers and 3.8 Million of the Silent Generation still working.

Today it is estimated that there are over 92 million Millennials in America alone.  Almost all of them vote.  As a matter of fact, according to Pew Research Again,  Millennials, Gen Z and Gen X not only outvoted older generations in the 2018 Mid terms … they also outvoted them in the 2016 Presidential Election – which is probably why Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016 and most likely why we have the so-called “Squad” of young minority congresswomen in congress now (more on this later).  Unfortunately when it comes to congressional and senatorial votes … there is no electoral college.  What or who is voted in is what you get.

Here are two charts from Pew Research showing voter turnout in 2016 and 2018:

So here’s my bottom line:  Though it may seem like I am against any generation younger than Baby Boomer, I assure you I am not.  Those generations are the future of this great country.  However, if you do not want Medicare for All then we need to do something to educate those that come after us that will be voting for future legislators and executive branch members.  Unfortunately, we are not allowed to vote on Medicare for All we can only vote for those that will cause it to be or not to be.

All people “want something for nothing” but it is the smarter ones who understand “there is no free lunch.”  Even I like to “have something for nothing,” but rarely will every get it unless it is a birthday or Christmas present.

Apparently, our educational system in America has not done an outstanding job of teaching “there is no free lunch” and that burden now falls on us that do understand it.  I urge you all to write or call your current legislators and let them know that you are against Medicare for All if you are.  You can find out there addresses and phone numbers here:  http://congresslookup.com/ This is very simple … just put in your address in the search box and hit enter.

I also encourage you to convince your children and grandchildren that there is no free lunch.  So far we have done a poor job of this which may explain why we get people like the SQUAD as they tend to call themselves.  I refer to the Squad as a Stupid Quartet of Under Achieving Democrats.  They all want Medicare for All. 

So does Bernie Sanders.  He speaks out of both sides of his mouth.  He is so much against capitalism as it is a bad thing … yet according to Forbes Magazine in 2019 his net worth is right up there with Donald Trump at $3.5 Billion (it should be stated that Donald is said to be worth $4.7 Billion and pays himself a salary of $250 million per year).  Sure Bernie wants Medicare for All since he, as a senator, does not have to use it and if it ever comes down to him using it he can certainly afford it.

In fact, all these people running from President on the Democratic Party want Medicare for All – with the exception of Joe Biden and he wants to soup up Obama Care and call it Biden Care.  Insane!!!

Will they get what they are asking for?  Yes … if we do nothing.  And if we do nothing … it is as though we are asking for it as well.

All I can say is the same thing I’ve always told my children and many clients over the years … “Be careful what you ask for, you may get it and it will be too late to do anything about it!”

Have a great week and don’t forget to contact your legislatures in Washington DC.

Jerry Nix, Freewavemaker, LLC

P. S.   Where ever you see blue underscored print, that is a website that pertains to where I got some of this information.

 

An update to this article 07/20/2019

In the above article I made the comment regarding the net worth of Bernie Sanders … yet according to Forbes Magazine in 2019 his net worth is right up there with Donald Trump at $3.5 Billion.

One of my readers sent me this comment on email and has allowed me to post it here:

As usual, Jerry, I love your stuff. Couple thoughts for you. I believe Bernie’s net worth is in the low millions not Billions but that doesn’t matter. He’s still a multimillionaire capitalist saying he supports socialism. But then the leaders in a socialist/communist system don’t do badly. I don’t think Lenin and Stalin drank cheap vodka or the Castro’s cheap rum.

Well I did some checking (even though I’d put in the website that had Bernie at $3.5 Billion) and most of the 20 or so that I found had his net worth between 2015 and 2019 at somewhere between $1.0 Million and $5.0 Million – so way below Trump … but rich nonetheless.  Let’s say he’s worth about $3.5 Million (a happy medium between 1 and 5 Million.

He goes on to say …

One of the simplest fixes that can be made to cover the in/out gap in Medicare might be to get the worthless POS that are congress to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Now, will that ever happen? Nope, not a chance. Why, Big Pharma is one of the largest contributors to re-election campaigns of both parties. They are an equal bribe business. One little personal example. My wife takes Eliquis. She has a heart valve replacement and a murmur. We pay $47/month as a co-pay. The insurance company pays $417/month. On that med alone we hit the donut hole in September and it is one of nine she takes. But Medicare is not allowed by law to negotiate with the drug companies.

Every other company does but not Medicare. And all so these pieces of crap can get re-elected. You are right in your statement that they will say and do anything to get elected. The worst of them California which keeps letting in ILLEGALS and letting them vote is sinking in its own filth. We can only hope that Pelosi, Harris and Waters sink with it. I could go on but I’d probably have a stroke and under my Part C plan I have to pay $199/day for the first five days which exceeds my wine budget for the year!!

Thanks for letting me rant.

So there you have it.  This reader apparently does not believe that Medicare for all will work either.  Oh, as for Joe Biden … I heard him bad mouthing it in a news clip but he was actually calling it “Medicaid” for All.  You know Medicaid is a state ran plan and there are 50 different ones.  We know that won’t work.  What planet do some of these individuals come from.  Had he said Medicaid for All one time I would have over looked it … but he said it 6 times in about 3 minutes.

Please feel free to express your thoughts in the comments section.