Seniors Uneasy Over Medicare Cuts in Overhaul

An Associated Press article, "Seniors Uneasy Over Medicare Cuts in Overhaul", dated July 30, 2009, analyzed the partisan battle being waged between Democrats and Republicans over the $500 billion cut in Medicare proposed in the House Democrats Health Care "Reform" bill. Leaving political considerations aside, the cuts have concerned seniors and those near retirement age.

The AP states, "At an AARP town hall meeting earlier this week, Obama went out of his way to address "a misperception" that the Democratic bills in Congress would cut medical benefits for the elderly.

"Nobody is talking about reducing Medicare benefits," Obama said. "Medicare benefits are there because people contributed into a system. It works. We don't want to change it. What we do want is to eliminate some of the waste that is being paid for out of the Medicare trust fund that could be used more effectively to cover more people and to strengthen the system."

But, given the President's other assurances that have been found to be at variance with the bills in Congress, seniors are still worried.

The AP continues, "The House bill — the congressional proposal that has advanced the most — would reduce projected increases in Medicare payments to providers by more than $500 billion over 10 years, a gross cut of about 7 percent over the period. But the legislation would also plow nearly $300 billion back into the program, mainly to sweeten payments to doctors.

That still leaves a net cut of more than $200 billion, which would be used to offset new federal subsidies for workers and their families now lacking health insurance. Those uninsured workers also pay the taxes that go to support medical care for the elderly."

That raises some questions with seniors. Can the government really eliminate $500 billion of "waste and fraud" in Medicare? The government's track record in this area has been pretty pathetic, and another failure would mean that the "net cut" could be a lot more than the $200 billion promised by the politicians.

There are also the President's statements about "waste" that have seniors worried. Supposedly the government will be smart enough to eliminate less effective treatments according to President Obama. To many seniors, this translates to the government cutting the treatments it will pay doctors and hospitals for, essentially telling them how to practice medicine.

Finally, the fact that AARP is backing the President's plan troubles seniors. AARP is supposed to represent the interests of seniors, but it also has a huge health insurance business it wants to protect, so this adds up to a significant conflict of interest. Seniors worry that they are not fairly represented in the health care discussion in Congress.

The AP reports, "What we hear from our members is that to them Medicare savings sounds like cuts," said Nora Super, AARP's chief health care lobbyist. "Our members over 65 really value their Medicare program ... and numbers like $500 billion are huge numbers, so that is really scary to our members."

"I believe they are hearing that their benefits are going to be really restricted," said Robert Blendon, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, who follows public opinion on health care issues. "If that's the case, it will really cause some problems for lawmakers over the summer because seniors are the most politically responsive group, and they're the ones who on a day-to-day basis confront ill health and medical expenses."

So, political considerations aside, the seniors will be a force to be reckoned with as the discussion in Congress continues. Will the Medicare cuts reduce the care the program provides? Is it fair to take $200 billion in funds that seniors have paid into Medicare and use it to cover the uninsured? What do you think?