Well, now that Congress bloodied itself on the debt ceiling, they’re suppose to take on federal cuts starting with Medicare and Medicaid. This should be interesting. I recently read a policy paper from the Kaiser Foundation that looked at how much we actually spend of federal revenues on health care. Supposedly, less than 50% of health care dollars come from federal money, which clarifies the question of whether or not we have a government takeover of health care. A national health system would pay 100% of the tab for the health of its population. The report indicated that even in 10 years we’ll still be less than 50%.

I’m curious where the American people really stand on Medicare cuts. Is this a heart-head conflict we all have to sort out, or can we live with less coverage coming from the federal government? In determining what we think is right, most of us will begin with how if affects us personally and then our family. Secondarily, we’ll think about people who have less and how cuts would impact them. This is usually where the rub occurs because you have to ask yourself if you really care. Medicare is already being cut over $500m with Obamacare reforms so how much does the public care that the next level of cuts won’t just wound, but could be lethal for some seniors? We could end up back at square one also, which is where seniors get catastrophic care only and forgo all other doctor visits for fear of the cost. This is also a possibility for Medicaid recipients. I’m seriously concerned about rising health care costs, but I’m also very concerned about our aging population and poor people that may have their safety net stripped away from them. In the end, are we better off if our balance sheet looks better or our people?

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