Big Brother is just looking out for your health

The government wants Medicare to be there for its senior citizens, whether those senior citizens want it or not.  An amazing story out of the San Diego Union Tribune that is worth quoting almost in its entirety:

Opting out of Medicare is possible – if you don’t mind losing your Social Security, too.

Three seniors have sued to change that. They want to pay their own medical costs, and they would abandon the Medicare taxes they’ve long paid. They don’t want, however, to abandon Social Security. Their suit would sunder the two programs, allowing seniors to cover their own medical care without losing Social Security.

That, say the three plaintiffs, would ensure the privacy of their medical records and spare them bureaucrats’ second-guessing whether every lab test and office visit are “medically necessary.” If not, Medicare doesn’t pay and the physician, by law, can’t bill the patient. Don’t wonder why many elderly have difficulty finding a doctor.

Medicare is universal health care, the same care for all, adequate or not. And as Washington moves toward it, Canada moves away. In 2005, its Supreme Court voided Quebec’s rule against buying private health services even if the national health service couldn’t provide them in time.

Medicare, of course, is oversubscribed and underfunded. If a mere 1 percent of seniors left Medicare, within nine years the program would save some $3.5 billion a year. Yet bureaucrats dictate that seniors give up control of their health care or give up Social Security altogether.

Personally, I’d take the bureaucrats up on their offer and give up my “right” to both Medicare and Social Security in exchange for lower taxes, a health savings account, catastrophic-only health insurance, and a much bigger 401k plan.  Of course, I’m in my late 30s and so in a different situation than the seniors in the above news story.

Hat tip: Steve Bartin at Newsalert

Photo credit: The Newspeak Dictionary