8 Democratic Senators introduce 'Medicare at 55 Act'

[MiddleClass]

111. You're mostly right. Medicare is subsidized. Everybody pays in from their paycheck

That goes into a giant fund, that pays Medicare recipients. Hospitalization. Medicare part a

Medicare recipients pay a monthly premium, which is 3 quarters subsidized. Medicare part B

Medicare part D is prescription drugs, which in general is minuscule with this argument

That premium goes into the fund, and all doctors are paid out of the fund. The 75 percent comes out of the above fund. The surplus is what you call the Medicare trust fund, which most people don't know goes back to the general government revenue fund with a treasury bond that's really just an IOU (nonnegotiable, can't self) and that's what makes up what we call the Medicare trust fund. There is been a surplus since the eighties, but in the last 3 years. The revenue has gone negative. There's something like 30 years left and then the tax payers have to start to pay the shortfall. (Technically, the taxpayers are on the hook to pay those treasury bills, i.e. the national debt)

But in 30 years, my age group (very last baby boomers) will be depleted. Thus returning the system to normalcy (10 + workers for every retiree). I think it's now 6 or 7 heading to 4. Baby boomers were a abnormal explosion in the population.

So Reagan and Bush balanced the checkbook, on future seniors back.

Almost forgot, Medicare's part B premium is simply cost divided by enrollees is a cost basis for each enrollee. By law, that is subsidize by exactly 75 percent. Means of premium is always 25 percent of that, guaranteed by general revenue (so technically it's a revenue generator for the general fund "taxpayers" If there is a surplus)