Medicare and Social Security

I tend to be a worrier.  It is one of the traits that I guess I inherited from my mother.  My folks are both retired and getting to the age where there are a lot of ailments that they are dealing with on an almost daily basis.

Like a lot of more mature Americans, my parents rely heavily on their Social Security and Medicare benefits.  They paid into the program their entire lives, and as such, should be able to use those benefits.  Unfortunately, Medicare just doesn't cover enough and they have to also rely on Medicare supplement insurance plan.

As a worrier, I always worry about things that will impact the benefits they need.  While both of those programs are in desperate need of reform, denying or reducing benefits to those that truly need them should be off the table.  I do think that some sort of means testing should be done so that those that need the benefits the most will be able to retain them.

I do not pretend to know the solutions for what needs to be done to preserve these benefits for current and future beneficiaries of these programs.  It is one of those things that the politicians will have to actually work on, rather than fight.  I expect in the coming months we will be hearing more on Medicare and Social Security as the politicians rev up their campaign rhetoric.