Tue Apr 05, 2011 at 06:11 AM PDT
(Updated: Krugman's Take) If Gop Kills Medicare it will Kill Me, My Family and Youby Steven D
The Republicans have a plan to destroy Medicare.
If enacted I will likely die an early death as will my wife.
A little background: I have a chronic autoimmune disorder that forced me to retire from my profession over ten years ago. The drugs I take each year (and I take mostly generic versions of those medications) cost roughly $5,000 last year. With insurance, the amount I paid for those drugs cost about $1,200.
My wife is not so lucky. She is a pancreatic cancer survivor (since 2006) who, as a result of the chemotherapy drugs she received, suffered permanent brain damage. The details regarding the cognitive problems she struggles with are described in this post at Booman Tribune for those who are interested. She is also a Type 1 Diabetic since the cancer and cancer treatments effectively destroyed her pancreas. The drugs she takes for her health issues are much more expensive than mine. They cost roughly $16,000 last year of which we paid roughly $4,000.
My wife, as a fully disabled person who receives SSD benefits, was shifted to Medicare A for doctor visits, etc. Her drugs (as are mine, my daughter and my son), however, are still covered under the group insurance plan of her former employer. The cost of those premiums is roughly $7000 per year and we pay the full amount. Though the premiums have increased each year (roughly 5% give or take), we manage. In this we are fortunate, since if we had to buy individual policies for health care the cost would be much higher...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/05/963573/-Updated:-Krugmans-Take-If-Gop-Kills-Medicare-it-will-Kill-Me,-My-Family-and-You