Healthcare Costs Eat Up Big Chunks of Social Security Benefits

A survey from the Senior Citizens League estimates that American retirees use up to half of their Social Security benefits to finance healthcare costs and are against cuts to Medicare, reports Think Advisor . More than half of respondents said they spend 25 percent to 50 percent of their Social Security payments on healthcare. "The majority of people close to retirement age don't understand the significant portion of Social Security benefits they can expect to spend on medical costs," says League Medicare policy analyst Mary Johnson. Last year the U.S. House attempted to slash $127 billion from Medicare over 10 years while the Senate tried to cut about four times that much. Johnson says retirees remain "highly concerned that Congress may try to cut Medicare again. Medicare and keeping healthcare costs affordable are key issues for older voters. They are a red flag for every member of the U.S. House going into the midterm elections." The League also determined that 86 percent of respondents support Medicare negotiating prescription drug prices and 63 percent back setting out-of-pocket caps on their prescription drug spending at $250 a month, adjusted for inflation. Meanwhile, 46 percent are against turning Medicare into a private plan system with vouchers or subsidies for beneficiaries.