IBM OneExchange Medicare Budget Cuts to Federal Support Services for Seniors

Every day, about 10,000 boomers turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare.  What is the federal government's response to this tsunami of seniors?  Congress keeps cutting support programs to help seniors through the transition.  There has been a drastic reduction in the number of local Social Security offices in the last 5 years.  There now is a push in congress to further reduce the funding of State Health Insurance Assistance (SHIP) offices.  Every state has SHIP which was put in place to help people understand state laws for things like Medicare Supplement policies, structures of Medicare Advantage programs and requirements for low income support programs.  The Senate Appropriations Committee recently suggested a 42 percent cut in funding for SHIPs—from $52.1 million to $30 million.
 
The SHIP program is a network of over 3,300 local SHIPs with more than 15,000 trained counselors that provides one-on-one assistance and health care education for millions of people with Medicare. Between 2005 and 2014 SHIP assistance has increased 270 percent, from 1.2 million people assisted in 2005 to 3.4 million in 2014. If funding were reduced by 42 percent, about 1.5 million fewer people would receive assistance.
 

The funding for SHIPs is already less than it should be. Since fiscal year 2011, SHIP funding has not kept pace with inflation and has not accounted for the increase in the size of the Medicare population. If it had, then funding for fiscal year 2016 would be about $62.8 million. In addition to urging Senators to reject SHIP funding cuts, tell your Senators that even if the spending stays the same it is still about $12 million short of the preferred $64 million after adjusting for inflation and the increased number of people who have Medicare.
 
These kinds of program cuts are not widely understood by the general population.  Tell your friends what Congress is proposing to do to reduce help for seniors.