tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111595495383589665.post8144503971799000960..comments2023-10-08T03:13:49.006-07:00Comments on By The Time I Get to Arizona: Maybe this is a stupid question, but...Alton Brooks Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17009974846866457783noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111595495383589665.post-44500488227701237512007-09-27T17:39:00.000-07:002007-09-27T17:39:00.000-07:00hmmm... I have no ideahmmm... I have no ideaAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05985251727401539821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111595495383589665.post-92101489712688678842007-09-26T16:05:00.000-07:002007-09-26T16:05:00.000-07:00Maybe I should clarify my question. If the Edward...Maybe I should clarify my question. If the Edwards-Clinton plans (I'm using these as my reference point because I don't really know anything about Obama's) subsidize the poor so that everyone can afford to buy into at least the government-run program, then why do we need Medicaid? I suppose Medicaid would still pay for non-legal residents, but that still has to amount to a huge decrease in Medicaid spending.Alton Brooks Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17009974846866457783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111595495383589665.post-86971972426077353352007-09-26T15:56:00.000-07:002007-09-26T15:56:00.000-07:00Right, but I was asking about Medicaid in the firs...Right, but I was asking about Medicaid in the first question and Medicare in the second. <BR/><BR/>You're right about Barack. I guess Dodd would probably be the only one that could really get away with it.Alton Brooks Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17009974846866457783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8111595495383589665.post-30712723703113712582007-09-26T15:52:00.000-07:002007-09-26T15:52:00.000-07:00Two things:1. I´m guessing the plans just assume t...Two things:<BR/>1. I´m guessing the plans just assume that medicare costs will stay constant and that all costs directly attributed to the plan just have to do with covering those under retirement age. That would make the most sense because there is some uncertainty as to what full coverage will do to the cost of covering people with medicare. Two effects of full coverage will move the cost of medicare in opposite ways. First, full coverage will mean that people with insurance or medicare won´t have to keep subsidizing the cost of those who are without insurance, causing the cost of healthcare overall (and therefor medicare) to decrease. Second, full coverage will mean that more people will consume regular doctors´visits, causing the costs of those visits to rise. Overall, full coverage should tend to cause medical expenditures to go down, but medicare patients have a lot more office visits than everyone else, so I am completely unsure of what will happen to medicare costs. It probably is easier not to talk about it.<BR/>2. They probably don´t talk about opting our of medicaid just becuase they are worried about being laughed at for suggesting that some people are virtuous enough to not use an entitlement. Barack would seem particularly naive.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05985251727401539821noreply@blogger.com