2011 will be the first year that the oldest baby boomers, those born in 1946, will be eligible for Medicare. An Associated Press poll showed concern for Medicare's future among all age groups.

Two out of three feel that Medicare will be inadequate for all of their health care needs throughout retirement. A big reason for that pessimism is the fact in 20 years the ratio of workers to Medicare recipients will change from 3.5 workers per retiree... to 2.3 workers per retiree.

All the ways to improve Medicare are political hot potatoes...increasing the age for Medicare eligibility from 65 to 67...decreasing benefits for Medicare... Increasing co-pays and deductibles... increasing taxes on the workers... All will have political fallout.

The survey pointed out some interesting facts, over 60% of younger workers, those currently in their 20s... would not object to paying higher Medicare taxes in order to preserve the benefits. Less than 30% of baby boomers polled said keep taxes the same and reduce benefits.

The majority of all Americans polled favored higher deductibles and higher co-pays for those receiving Medicare benefits... This includes over 60% of the seniors polled. One of the biggest fears of the seniors, is that it is harder to find a doctor willing to accept Medicare... Payments to doctors had been cut drastically in the last 10 years and more and more doctors are throwing up their hands refusing to accept Medicare anymore. This fact has got the seniors attention.

If given a choice, most baby boomers seem to favor raising the age for eligibility for Medicare rather than reducing the benefits for Medicare. Even among boomers, the realization that people are living longer, makes raising the age of eligibility to 67 something they would consider... The poll found, surprisingly, the willingness to compromise to ensure the future of Medicare among all age groups.

2011 will be a critical year for Medicare as well as other entitlements such as Social Security... It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

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