Bed-Stuy Seniors Say Ryan Plan Won't Work

Earlier this month, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, (R-Wis.) introduced “The Ryan Plan,” a sweeping proposal for closing the federal deficit. And Bed-Stuy senior citizens and their caretakers have a serious bone to pick with it.

The Plan, unofficially titled, “A Roadmap for America’s Future,” summarily is backed by Senate and House Republicans and attempts to reign in government spending and reduce the national debt by six trillion dollars over the next ten years.

Although Ryan’s plan is a bold and brave attempt to address the problem of vast government spending on entitlements, according to critics, most of its provisions take direct aim at the country’s most needy and most vulnerable: Seniors, students, children and the poor.

One of the most controversial aspects of the plan is the proposal to cut federal spending by phasing out Medicare and Medicaid for those currently 55 and younger, and replacing it with an annual government voucher worth $15,000, which grows at the rate of inflation and can be used instead to purchase private health insurance.

According to Ryan, the voucher can be used to pay directly for a “health care plan designated by the individual, allowing those who use the health care plan to choose the insurance that best suits their needs.” Ryan also makes sure to add that if there is money left over after coverage is purchased, then the money can be used for other health care payments, such as co-pay’s, medicine and hospital visits.

However, if the medical costs are more then what the voucher is worth, it will be up to the individual to assume responsibility for the additional costs.

Total Medicare costs in NY State average $22,845 per person, according to the U.S department of Health and Human Services. Across the nation, the average Health insurance premium (what you pay monthly to stay covered by health insurance) is nearly $3,000 a month for individuals and $6,328 for families paying solely for their insurance.

Luz Burgos, director for the Wayside Tompkins Park Senior Center, located at 550 Greene Avenue in Bed-Stuy, worries about what will happen if seniors cannot cover the cost of additional medical expenses, when the money they receive for SSI to cover their cost-of-living already is so low.

She points out, the average senior citizen at her center receives $700 a month from Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is used to pay for rent, co-payments, food, home attendants, utility bills, transportation, clothing and anything else one might need to live.

“Some [seniors] get less” Burgos added.

One Bed-Stuy senior at Wayside, Dorothy, 74, who didn’t want to reveal her last name, said the entire health care system needs to be revamped for seniors, but the Ryan Plan would hurt seniors even more.

“It is not enough, seniors need more, how is this enough?” said Dorothy. But she called paying for health care a “no-win situation” for any senior.

The rising costs of current co-payments already is a big concern for many seniors, she said.

Aster Gaillard, 81, another senior at Wayside, laughed when she heard of the proposed voucher amount to cover both insurance and medical costs.

Licensed Health Insurance Consultant Robin Alexander, who sells medical insurance and Medicare consulting in Bed-Stuy, says that health insurance can be very costly at second glance, due to underlying costs and “fine print.”

“I don’t believe the Medicare system would be any easier because of these vouchers. It’s a complex system that has been in place since the 60s,” said Alexander.

However, proponents of the Ryan Plan argue that using vouchers for private insurance will encourage companies to compete with each other for lower health care costs.

Alexander calls that assumption unlikely: “I think it would be a field day for private insurers who would be pushing and tripping over each other to get these vouchers,” she said.

Bed-Stuy resident and future retiree, Nicolas Rodriguez, 26, said that voucher plan would hurt more then it would help.

“What if you have a bad year where you get sick a lot? Would there be enough to cover expenses for that year?” Rodriguez said.

Although the plan received majority support from the Republican-controlled House, it likely will be defeated in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Still, if it is defeated, critics claim the Ryan Bill now gives Republicans in the House greater leverage to negotiate for other federal spending cuts aimed at women, children and the poor.