What Ails Medicare: A Very Nice Summary

Don’t get me wrong.  Medicare is incredibly important to our seniors (me included).  Without it, health care in the U.S. would be even worse than it is now.  Again, don’t get me wrong, health care in the U.S. is pretty good, but far down on the list in terms of quality, and by far the most costly per capita.  Medicare is an entitlement; that means we are entitled to it, not because of some fundamental right, but because we have each paid for it.  The basic problem is that what we have paid in does not cover the the costs; it doesn’t even come close (about 33% of the costs).  Anyway,there is a very succinct discussion of this problem in today’s NYT.  I suggest all of you read it, even if you are not an “old-timer.”   The article is entitled, “Forseeing the issues in Medicare’s future,” and was written by David Leonhardt.  It is not “political” and just presents the facts and what our options are for fixing the cost vs. income dilemma.  What does this have to do with pediatric endocrinology?  Well, I expect all of my patients with endocrine disorders, including diabetes, to live long enough to qualify for Medicare.  I just want to be sure it is there for them.

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