Should American citizens 65 or over have completely free medical care?

Question

When seniors have to choose between food and medicine, this country should be ashamed! Yet we can spend billions on foreign aid and medical care for young people who don't want to work but instead keep having children to ensure they continue medicaid, subsidized housing, and food stamps. The elderly have EARNED the right to be taken care of!

Answer 1

Not only have they earned it, but they've paid social security out of every paycheck since they started earning a living.

They've essentially paid for their care after they reach 65.

Answer 2

The United States has an obligation to provide for the elderly first instead of giving handouts to other countries or wasting money trying to buy foreign good will. We have wasted trillions supporting Europe and the rest of the world and all we get back is negative feelings. Congress should give free medical treatment to the elderly and those under 18. People old enough to work should be covered by taxes placed on business to pay for medical care. Liberals in Congress permitted the corporations to skip out on the citizens by pushing retirement cost and medical cost off on the taxpayers. The corporate executives who milked the system dry should have their wealth confiscated and applied to the care of the employees they screwed.

Answer 3

Medicare Part D(prescriptions) passed by the Republicans is very nearly the stupidest, least fair and most expensive program we've ever had. I would be surprised if it doesn't bankrupt Medicare. Medicare is set to pay 75% of initial drug costs up to $2,250 after a $250 deductible for most seniors. But then the program pays nothing until drug expenses reach $5,100, after which the government pays 95% of all costs.

Not only is there no coverage for middle class Americans that need prescriptions most, it covers wealthy people as well. I worked for a financial planner and found our wealthiest client, worth $20 million, 93 yrs old with round the clock nursing care at home-had her prescriptions paid after the $5100-which she could easily afford.

I will be surprised if Medicare or SS is there when I'm 67.

Answer 4

Well, you know that you are going to get a lot of mixed answers from this qustion, I mean, people like me who are over 65 are going to say yes, younger people are going to say no. BUT, as a senior, I am all for it. England, France, Germany, Canada and other countries who are a lot less well off than we are, can do it, why can't we. Rmember, we a now feeding, housing and caring for 30 million Iraqi people.I have worked for the past 47 years and never asked the gov to take care of me, I think you have a good idea.

Answer 5

Amen. Elderly are disposable in the American Society, unlike some cultures which revere the old ones. With medical deductions under Medicare rising annually and the increase in cost of living, Social Security won't even cover utilities in some cities.

Answer 6

No f-ing WAY!

Why should Bill Gates or Warren Buffet or Donald Trump get ANYTHING for free when they turn 65?

Care for people over 65 should be NEEDS BASED.

And just because someone lived past 65 doesn't mean they "earned" anything. MANSON is 73, and the ONLY thing that sob has "earned" is a trip to the NEEDLE.

Answer 7

My opinion is every nonworking senior citizen should have free medical care and a tax free home for the rest of his or her life. Also all people that work have social security taken out of their paychecks and business. Evidently the RICH DONT PAY social security only us. Maybe this is why s.s. ran out of $$$$$$$$$

Answer 8

I agree with you that "free hand-outs" shouldn't be sent overseas or to those who do not want to work, but if the elderly "EARNED" the right to be taken care of, then they should not have depended upon a defunct government to take care of them later in life. We should all plan ahead and financially take responsibility of ourselves for the future when we are young. If there are elderly who do not have the finances to take care of themselves due to past mistakes, it should be their families and/or churches responsibility to take care of them, not the government.

Answer 9

There's no such thing as free medical care, only robbing taxpayers to pay for other people's doctor visits. Tax money should not be spent on any form of public assistance, that should be the exclusive domain of private charity.

Answer 10

Billions being spent on a war that no one wants any more, yet people in this country are starving. Specifically, seniors who are pennyless and eating dog food.
They have earned certain rights and they are being cheated.