Direct Primary Care (DPC) restores the doctor-patient relationship, with the patient a subscriber to the doctor's services for routine treatment, including injections and tests, for a set monthly rate (as low as $50). Some doctors that offer this service will also sell prescriptions direct, at the price they negotiate with the pharm companies, and the price is often cheaper than the co-pay under insurance.

Expanding the health savings accounts, increasing the amount that can be saved tax free is another way to make health care affordable.

Requiring hospitals to post their fees for surgeries will increase competition. Some surgery centers already do this.

Making catastrophic care insurance, for unexpected hospital stays, available across state lines will increase the competition there as well.

The problem isn't going to be resolved immediately, as there's the issue of retirees that have paid into the Medicare system all their working life, and deserve consideration for payment, just like the Social Security system that was mandatory. A transition plan could be made workable, if there was the will, but there's no political incentive to do that.

The whole medical insurance industry needs to be overhauled to make their product more affordable so there wouldn't be Medicare. Parents and then schools help train young children about saving and investing their money when they get older and have jobs.

This issue comes up from time to time as an attack on Ayn Rand: "She was opposed to government programs such as Social Security, but she accepted SS benefits."

(1) You get the supposed benefits whether you want them or not.

(2) You have already paid for SS and Medicare, so there is nothing wrong with getting back some of what is rightfully yours. Francisco D'Anconia covered the issue at length.

Those among the public demanding "Medicare for All" have it confused with Medicaid, which covers up to 100% of medical costs for millions of people considered to be in what the law calls "poverty." Those politicians pushing "Medicare for All" know this, but have no reason (lacking a conscience) to correct the misapprehension.

Confirming: you have no choice. You will have Medicare thrust upon you. It happened to me. One day, my RedWhiteBlue Medicare card showed up in the mail.

If you "paid in" why do you not want to "get from?"

It isn't possible to not use medicare because insurance companies will not issue policies other than as supplements to medicare payments for those old enough to be eligible. If you get a good private supplemental insurance plan you won't have to deal with the medicare bureaucracy yourself. The alternative, which few can afford, is to not have insurance at all and pay for everything yourself.

That would all change under the Democrats' "medicare for all", which would abolish both private insurance and medicare, replacing them with national socialized medicine.

Thanks, Freedom

You can copy it from my post ;^) 👍
Good to see you here, Mamaemma.

Thumbs up! (Cant find the emoji)

👍

"the powers that be should be striving to make Medicare more affordable."
Perhaps making health care more affordable would be an admirable goal of the free market. However that is not the goal of government since that would result in less central government power, less central government spending, more individual liberty, and less opportunity for corrupt pay-offs to "public servant" looters. The very existence of Medicare must result in higher cost of medical care.
The stated goals are never the same as the hidden agenda of governments and looters.

I am like you, over 65, still working and paying for private insurance as well as Medicare.
I disagree strongly that anyone should be striving to make Medicare affordable. Medicare should not exist; it is collectivism, pure and simple.
If the government would “get out of my way”, medical care would be affordable.

I pay for Medicare every month. Have been doing this all of my working life. I have not, and will not, hopefully, ever use it. I am covered by other insurance. But I get all the junk mail trying to get me to 'enroll in Medicare'. I can use Medicare if I choose to, but I don't.