Should we expand or dismantle our Medicare program?

Reform and expand it for all Americans.

let states decide

Reform it

Revamp it into a voucher program

Reform it to require it to remain solvent.

Create Canadian or European style single payer system that can negotiate pricing for medication and treatments

Wherefore all these false dichotomies? "More" or "less" are not the only options when it comes to this, or any other federal funding issues. The Medicare program should be reformed and modernized. Both of those actions will require more up front funding. Over time, the cost of Medicare will be reduced, as we increase efficiency in the program.

Read my stance on OASDI

Create Norwegian style single payer healthcare system

Let the states decide.

Eliminate administrative regulations. Eliminate the FDA. Allow doctors and patients broad latitude in deciding health care options.

Wealthy seniors should pay more of their expenses out of pocket, leaving more resources for those who cannot afford to pay.

Healthcare should not be tool for profit. The workforce depends on its workers to operate, so healthcare should be a freely given right of the people.

The program should be expanded to all Americans.

100% covered publicly funded universal healthcare for all legal us citizens

Medicare should be kept largely as is, but its administrators should be empowered to determine what treatments are effective and aggressively adapt what treatments will be paid for accordingly.

every legal us citizen should have access to 100% publicly funded healthcare.

undecided

Dismantled for future generations, not those currently relying on it.

Modify with serious cost control with dismantling of pay per service.

Restructure and phase out over 30 years.

Just give people the money and let them find their care on their own. The competition this will create among hospitals will improve quality of care and reduce costs without the federal government having to lift a finger.

Get the government out of it. Churches need to be leaders and take back the responsibility given to them by God to take care of individuals.

Power over these types of programs should be transferred to and funded by the states.

Leave medical care to the individual states.

Create Canadian or European style single payer system that can negotiate pricing for medication and treatments and have government hospitals

Expanded with money earmarked for regenerative medicine rather than treatments and replacements.

Health programs in general have become too complicated. Simplify all health programs and limit large pharmaceuticals profits.

Medicare should be opt-in, if you choose to pay you should be able to receive benefits, if you have not paid then you are ineligible.

Eliminate incentives for abuse of medical insurance, allow states to serve their own residents. Keep government out of health care decisions.

Add the option of opt-in and opt-out and reform it.

Reformed, but serious decisions should be based on input from the medical community not just the constituents/major lobbyists of congress

return the program to solvency by having the United States repay the money that has been taken from its trust

Leave it up to the states to decide.

All taxes should be paid to the individual states so that they can care for their citizens in their own way.

I believe medical coverage by the government subsidized with tax payments would encourage businesses to do business here in the u.s. a consolidated medical plan from birth to death. Like Japan, Switzerland or other developed countries. So I would like to see a major restructuring of the health care program. As for the capitalization of the hospitals and doctors a transition should be made.

Have a program on a fair need basis

I am a veteran and so have 'socialized' healthcare.

Rather than paying for patients medication, once a person is eligible for the program, they should get all their medication and care through the system, which would be extremely discounted due to regulation.

Keep medicare as is and price-fix medical and pharmaceutical costs

Good health is every living beings right and should not be a for profit industry.

Reform it, and audit the doctors and facilities for fraud, and imprison those who do.

Do not pay any money or medical treatment to illegal aleins at the cost to American taxpayers

Reform it and do not require everyone over 62 to participate in it. It must stand on its own, with means testing as well. Warren Buffett does not need Medicare, he has enough money to pay for his own.

Require cost saving measures (volume discount negotiations on drugs, more incentives for handling simple cases with PAs or LPNs, etc.), and consider means-testing the program.

don't know enough

Get the Government out of the way! Get rid of it slowly. Encourage Americans to be disciplined enough to take care of themselves.

Remove insurance companies from the mix. People could afford medical care if they insurance companies weren't jacking up the prices.

single payer healthcare for non profit. Dennis Kucinich plan!

keep it but reform it in a way that it can emcompass all those that require it, whether they are retired, part-time employed, on welfare or mentally or physically disabled. Perhaps have a nation tax that is 0.25% to cover the cost of medicare.

Keep it, but require to qualify based on criteria within their control

Medicare for all

While a more socialist mode of health care would be wise, the quality of care would be an issue. I appreciate the program here in Massachusetts but believe it needs certain adjustments and too, a means by which to guard against abuse. An overhaul of Medicare would be wise and options set into place that are better balanced, not as supportive of corporate health care thinking but a reprise of what Health Care was prior to the latter 1970s and early 80's (the curse of HMOs)

Expand it Medicare and offer it to all Americans and also consider eventually think about setting up a national health system using the VA system as a model.

Limit Medicare benefits for those with retirement benefits over $5000. per month.

Cap per person expenditure

Keep it for those currently eligible or close to eligibility. Reform it for others

Give people 20 years of notice we are dismantling this service.

i believe public healthcare as well as private should be structured such that accidental based injury care is free or greatly reduced, as well as genetic abnormality based illnesses that tend to have very high costs involved for families but are relatively very infrequent, as well as making insurance policies available that cover these types of health care issues. this will solve a lot of health care cost increases because no one intends to get themselves hurt in an accident, and no one chooses to be born with an abnormality, although these are often situations that simply lie outside the control of an individual. general health care for diseases as well as conditions of the body like cancer and heart disease should fall under different types of policies, so that the people who take care of their bodies dont have to carry the burden of those that dont. i heard a statistic that merely 5% of people account for 85% of healthcare costs. this is because there are so many people that dont take care of their bodies and their health care costs have to be carried by insurers the same as everyone else. if they were made to pay 10 times the premiums for their insurance, maybe they wouldnt eat so many damn twinkies.

Allow opt out, and slowly dismantle it.

It should be required to remain solvent, and new options that are private should be phased in to the system to provide better service to future generations.

Allow opt-out for people who don't need it and have other healthcare options available to them; along with a single payer system

Eliminate benefits for people earning over 100K

elderly healthcare should be included in universal healthcare not separated

Cases should be reviewed on needs basis. If a person meets a certain income/asset/net worth levels including preexisting insurance coverage. Too much waste.

Idgaf

Keep as is but more oversight to get ride of fraud.

Expand the medicare program with changes that will allow for it to leverage lower medical costs and medical reform for uninsured patients.

Adopt the Ryan plan as an option to give seniors more choice and increase competition. Limit benefits for higher income seniors.

Return it to pre-obamacare levels and stop adding benefits that others have to pay for.

They've lived their lives, it's time to move on and decrease the surplus population.

execute the elderly

Same with social security we should keep our promise to seniors but slowly opt out for the younger generation and eventually discontinue the program altogether.

It should be reformed and eventually weined off

government has no legal authority for this. It needs to be phased out.

Dismantle it as a federal program and allow the states to decide how they will care for their seniors.

Medicare needs to be reformed, but without putting seniors at risk or reducing services. Reform of Medicare should focus on improving efficiency, and reducing waste and fraud.

Leave up the the states to continue it or not and to fund them selves.

Long term phase out.

In the short-run, I am for simple reforms such as changes to COLA's and age requirements. I am also for the dismantling of Medicare Part D in favor of a Veteran Affairs style program. Eventually, we should provide multiple opt-in and opt-out options, and considering that these programs are unconstitutional, allocate them to the states.

Block grant Medicare funding to the States

Reform the program to allow seniors to choose thier coverages and move to a premium support model

It should slowly shrink into non-existance.

The program should be restructured into a block grant given to states and administered by local governments.

Reform medicare to allow senior the option of a premium support model.

It should be reformed into insurance subsidies for people 55+ and those that opt for it. everyone under 50 should be allowed to save any amount of money into a MSA for use during "retirement" whatever that is going to mean for them.

I am opposed to a single payer system for working people with employer provided health insurance that can be provided as an incentive and benefit of accepting their position. It is a choice in that case. For the seniors who must have it as their primary coverage and for the lower income citizens without coverage, as single payer system with rigorous enforcement against fraud is probably best.

Shrink the program and limit funding with the ultimate goal of total repeal

Cover those currently at or near retirement, but in more limited fashion. Those younger should be allowed to make their own provisions for their retirement and healthcare.

The program should be phased out and completely ended once those dependent upon it no longer need it.

Should be kept for Americans of low income and should never be given to illegal immigrants or their anchor babies.

No opinion

Expanded to include Congress, they should have there pay cut to match the avg of the people they represent. Along with that there retirement and medical coverage should be medicare and social Security.

expand medicare and focus on requiring preventative treatment. Penalties for not adhering to recommended preventative measures.

Gradually dismantle the program over a period of time.

support people that are depending on it

Nationalize health care similar to Canada and the UK

Reformed and strengthened to eliminate waste, but to ensure that all will have access to those programs.

Free healthcare for anyone who needs it whenever they need it. Because as a species we are more compassionate than greedy.

Look long term for a real program that would work and reform current program to fit.