Medicare is an incredibly important issue for many Texans who support Texas independence. We will not abandon Texans who rely on these kinds of services as the whole point of independence is to help Texans whose needs and values have been abandoned by the federal system.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), CMS Program Statistics, total expenditures for Medicare in Texas total $27,591,169,728. When it comes to determining the total amount taken out of the pockets of Texas taxpayers to fund Medicare, even the Internal Revenue Service is stumped.

“Collections of withheld individual income tax are not reported by taxpayers separately from Old-Age, Survivors, Disability, and Hospital Insurance (OASDHI) taxes on salaries and wages (under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act or FICA) and individual income tax payments along with taxes on self-employment income (under the Self-Employment Insurance Contributions Act or SECA).”

Given the current imbalance in how much Texans pay into the federal system versus how much we get, it’s safe to assume that we are putting more in than we are getting back.

The fact is that the $27 billion is a drop in the bucket of the amount we already overpay into the federal system. An independent, self-governing Texas would need to set up our own version of the Medicare system for those who are already on Medicare or those close to nearing retirement age who would otherwise rely on the healthcare coverage provided by Medicare. This would be accomplished during the transition period after a TEXIT vote. With the $103 – $160 billion we already overpay into the federal government this should not be too difficult. It’s also important to note that this new system would run a lot smoother and be more flexible as it will be run by Texans and for Texans.