Medicare and Medicaid at 50

    Many of the gloom and doom predictions about Medicare in the 1960's have been repeated about the Afordable Care Act (Obamacare). Of course none of that came to pass. Doctors can still live and practice where they want to and it has not lead to a Socialist takeover the the means of productions.  If anything programs like Medicare and Social Security have increased the freedom of senior citizens by not being dependent on family or charity.

Many Republican candidates are now floating ideas to replace Medicare with voucher plans which I think is disingenuous since the most reliable Republican voter is over age 60. They tell them your benefits will be fine but  we will take them away from your kids and grand kids because the system isn't sustainable. That is not true as Kevin Drum points out :
Ten years ago, Medicare was a runaway freight train. Spending was projected to increase indefinitely, rising to 13 percent of GDP by 2080. This year, spending is projected to slow down around 2040, and reaches only 6 percent of GDP by 2090.
Six percent! That's half what we thought a mere decade ago. If that isn't spectacular, I don't know what is.

 Medicaid is another matter because it is a means tested program that people don't pay into like Medicare so it's easier to attack as a handout to the undeserving poor. What people don't know is that big chunk of Medicaid money is spent on nursing home care. My mom is in a nursing home and we sure don't have the $9000+ a month to pay for it.

I have an Uncle (WWII vet) who gets all of his medical care from the VA  and can't believe I'm not a Republican until I told him that I won't vote for a party that wants to close the VA Medical Centers.