AARP and AARP Medicare supplements have been around for decades supporting seniors and helping them find affordable health insurance and financial security.  AARP believes some of the proposals being passed around in Congress may threaten the future of Medicare.  Cuts are being proposed that could put Medicare and supplements in jeopardy.

The concern AARP and other officials have, is that cuts to Medicare will increase health care costs for seniors and even threaten their access to physicians, hospitals and nursing homes.  According to the article “AARP Urges Congress to Protect Seniors” found on Natchezdemocrat.com, AARP is striving to stop Congress from putting these cuts in place and hopefully protect today and future seniors.  Health care reform experts have said from the beginning that they are not trying to hurt seniors in any way, and they have the best interest of all Americans in mind.

It’s hard to tell exactly how health care reform is going to affect Medicare recipients, but today’s beneficiaries already pay an average of $5500 each year out of pocket for heath care costs and it’s going up each year.  The average social security benefit is only $14,000 per year which we know is very hard to live on.  These benefits are not going up with the rate of inflation and cuts would make this difference even more drastic.  Something needs to be done to reign in over all costs though so it’s a really tough situation.  Something needs to change but no one can agree on what kind of change needs to take place or where all of the money is going to come from.