Voters need to be told the truth about the fiscal sustainability of Medicare and Social Security, say the authors of Plan for America, a proposal for private accounts to pay for retirement and health care, and to address the debt of the national and state governments.
“Plan For America is a tremendous opportunity for a presidential candidate to seize on and run with,” said Eric Nager, one of the authors of the proposed reforms.
“Both leading major party candidates have said [they support] no changes to entitlements, which is an unsustainable position,” said Nager. “Combined with the fact that 70 percent of Americans do not want to see a rematch of the 2020 election, Plan For America creates an opening for candidates to differentiate themselves. There is hope: our crushing national debt problem can be solved!”
Private Lifetime Accounts
The Plan For America would replace Medicare and Social Security and government health care with private savings accounts managed by a clearly defined trust.
The authors have made presentations around the country, most recently during the Freedom Seminar at Northwood University in Midland, Michigan, on February 7, which can now be viewed online at the Plan for America website. Health Care News and economists, including Stephen Moore of Committee to Unleash Prosperity, participated in a three-day panel discussion in 2023 at Principia College
As Health Care News reported in May 2023, the Plan For America, which is detailed in a book, is a voluntary alternative to Medicare and Social Security, allowing participants to direct payroll taxes into a savings account held by a trust that would invest in all companies domiciled in the United States. The growth of the trust would allow the plan to guarantee lifetime health coverage and retirement income equal to what someone paying into traditional entitlement programs would receive.
Universal Option
Even Americans who are in and out of the workforce could participate. Unlike Social Security, upon an individual’s death, unused portions of the savings account could be passed on to surviving family members.
The plan incorporates many of the very same principles as The Heartland Institute’s American Health Care Plan.
-Staff reports
