Interesting article in USA TODAY about the cost of senior benefits.
USATODAY.com
Apparently it cost $27,289 per senior in 2007 for government benefits, such as medicare, medicaid, and social security, which is a 24% increase above the inflation rate since 2000.
quote: Findings include:
•Medicare experienced the most explosive growth from 2000 to 2007. The Medicare prescription-drug benefit, started in 2006, accounts for about one-fourth of the increase in Medicare, which provides health benefits for people 65 and older.
•Long-term care costs per senior have declined slightly in the past three years because of a move away from nursing homes to less expensive home care.
and...
Economist Dean Baker calls it "granny bashing" to focus on the cost of senior benefits. The elderly paid a designated tax for Social Security and Medicare taxes during their decades of working to support these programs when they retired, says Baker, co-director of the liberal Center for Economic Policy and Research.•The cost of senior benefits is equal to $10,673 for every non-senior household.
•About 35% of the federal budget is spent on senior benefits, up from 32% in 2004.
USATODAY.com
Apparently it cost $27,289 per senior in 2007 for government benefits, such as medicare, medicaid, and social security, which is a 24% increase above the inflation rate since 2000.
quote: Findings include:
•Medicare experienced the most explosive growth from 2000 to 2007. The Medicare prescription-drug benefit, started in 2006, accounts for about one-fourth of the increase in Medicare, which provides health benefits for people 65 and older.
•Long-term care costs per senior have declined slightly in the past three years because of a move away from nursing homes to less expensive home care.
and...
Economist Dean Baker calls it "granny bashing" to focus on the cost of senior benefits. The elderly paid a designated tax for Social Security and Medicare taxes during their decades of working to support these programs when they retired, says Baker, co-director of the liberal Center for Economic Policy and Research.•The cost of senior benefits is equal to $10,673 for every non-senior household.
•About 35% of the federal budget is spent on senior benefits, up from 32% in 2004.