SPECIAL REPORT: Medicare Vs. Vouchercare - What's The Difference?

Background image pulled from www.BarackObama.com

In recent politics, the Obama campaign has slammed the GOP calling the Republican healthcare plan proposals nothing more than "Voucher care." Vice President Biden recently commented, "We are for Medicare, they are for voucher care." But what does he mean? What are the differences between Medicare and Vouchercare?

Well, under the Republican proposal, seniors would be given vouchers of a set amount to buy health insurance on the private market, and would choose a health care plan from a menu of approved options, and the government would make payments on their behalf to insurance providers. This plan, Mitt Romney says, will prevent Medicare from going bankrupt.

Medicare, on the other hand, which the Democrats are trying to save, is a government-run insurance system that directly pays health-care providers. Also for seniors, people over 65 years of age, Medicare has a number of significant benefits that closes the “doughnut hole” in drug coverage and the way it protects early retirees.

What Critics Are Saying:

Critics against President Obama and the Democrats are saying that change is needed because Medicare is too costly and may soon go bankrupt. They argue that it has to start saying no to expensive procedures with little or no medical benefits, and has to change the way it pays doctors and hospitals.

Critics against Romney and the Republicans say that their "Vouchercare" proposal will break the Medicare promises made by previous GOP presidents to people born since 1957, and most seniors wouldn’t be able to afford adequate coverage.