2022 Election: What’s at Stake for Medicare this State Election and Local Election Season?

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Medicare and Social Security are Major Talking Points in the State Elections This Year

Two years have passed since the 2020 United States Presidential election. That means yet another election is upon us. If the onslaught of political messaging is meant to tell us anything, it’s that more is at stake during the 2022 midterm elections than ever, especially if you receive Medicare or Social Security benefits.

Preserving Medicare and Social Security are always central talking points in any election. While positive bipartisan efforts have been made successfully in recent months to regulate the cost of insulin and give CMS permission to negotiate prescription drug costs, these bright spots are not enough to assure seniors that their benefits are not at risk of being altered, cut, or scrapped altogether.

As you prepare to vote in your upcoming election, it’s important to know what’s at stake regarding your Medicare program benefits. Are you really at risk of losing crucial healthcare coverage, or are elected officials simply blowing smoke? Let’s take a look at the facts as we continue to wade through the details of the upcoming 2022 election.

Will the Midterm Elections Have a Major Political Impact on Medicare?

Public healthcare is a top priority in this year’s election (especially in the court of public opinion for older Americans), and both sides of the political spectrum are floating ways to either reform or restructure the Medicare system this election season. What ultimately happens with the Medicare program beyond the 2022 election depends on two key factors:

• Whichever side wins the highest number of seats in congress (most senate seats / house seats)
• Whether or not sides are able to work on bipartisan compromises and agreements

When it comes to the potential upcoming elected officials, Democratic candidates are largely running on backing efforts by sitting President Joe Biden to either maintain or lower current healthcare costs. Many centrist Republican and Independent candidates running for the high number of seats available in the midterm elections are pinning their campaigns on the backing of these efforts as well. These candidates believe that successful Medicare program reform entails:

• Maintaining or lowering the costs of current Medicare premiums
• Regulating the costs of prescription medications
• Allowing seniors to contribute to current HSA accounts or open new ones to alleviate the cost of out-of-pocket expenses

Some Republican and right-leaning Democratic and Independent candidates who are currently in the running for the available house seats and senate seats, however, believe that such measures will only put the United States in a deeper financial hole. They believe in reforming the Medicare program, but in different ways. Some candidates running in this year’s election for available congressional seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate believe that the following methods are the most fiscally positive fixes for Medicare:

• Raising the age of eligibility for Social Security and Medicare
• Privatizing the Medicare system
• “Sunsetting” the Medicare system (lawmakers cast a vote every 5 years or so on whether or not to extend the availability of Medicare benefits)
• Relegating the funding of Medicare to an annual vote

For the most part, bipartisan efforts will ensure that no outcome is too extreme regarding Medicare reform after the election. While there may be some kind of differences in Medicare in the wake of this year’s midterm elections, it will likely have a minor impact on senior citizens overall. 

In other words, you can likely expect little to no political impact on Medicare overall, as all parties realize it’s in their best interests to come to the safest possible solutions regarding Medicare measures.

Which is Most Crucial to Medicare: Your State Election, or Your Local Election?

It goes without saying that the outcomes of all elections are important. However, your local election will have little to nothing to do with determining Medicare and Social Security reforms. Your state election, though, will provide key insight into which side controls the future of Medicare and Social Security reforms, since elections at the state level typically control which political party takes over the highest number of seats in congress (a.k.a. congressional seats).

The performances of specific parties in elections at state levels can often foretell the outcomes of elections on the national level. For instance, a Republican-controlled state that overwhelmingly votes to keep their legislating body the same, will likely vote for Republican candidates in federal elections. Those types of states are safe bets.

However, it’s the swing states that can prove to be difference makers. These states rarely lean toward a majority of one particular side, and control of the federal government is split between Democrats and Republicans. Depending on where candidates stand on important issues, like Medicare, voters in these states can “swing” to make a difference in the balance of power at the national level.

Medicare program reforms are not determined at the state level by any means. However, the outcome of your state election can make a huge difference on issues at the United States federal government level, depending on how your state leans on the issues. This could be a vital way to see how Medicare reforms are determined over the years to come.

Let Where You Stand On the Issues Be Your Guide This Election Season

If you want to see change, it’s important to be the change you want to see. When it comes time to vote in this year’s election, let where you stand on important issues, such as preservation and reform of Medicare, be your guide. In the end, public opinion matters.

Are you ready to explore your options for Medicare plans and health insurers? Make an informed choice by using our free plan finder tool to search and compare Medicare plans in your area. If you have any questions, our licensed insurance agents are standing by with the answers!