Happy Birthday Medicare
We celebrate another milestone for the
public good; the Supreme Court ruling that the Affordable care act is
constitutional on June 28 is an important increment in health care reform.
Forty –seven years ago, Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare bill on July 30,
1965. Medicare was implemented into law on July 1, 1966. July 25, 2012
is National Call Day Birthday wishes to Congress for improved & expanded
Medicare. 202-204-2431. Make the call.
Since 1966, seniors have enjoyed the
security of an affordable package of guaranteed health care benefits. What
would a GOP plan to end Medicare, in favor of tax breaks to big oil, hedge fund
billionaires, huge corporations and corporate jet owners, mean?????? To date, this is the plan Romney would put in
place of “Obama Care.”
It would end affordable benefits to 42
million elderly, Americans, 65 and older, plus people with disabilities. It
would double their out-of-pockets expense. There would be an immediate increase
in the cost of prescription drugs.
Just Say No To The Ryan Plan! MITT ROMNEY
THINKS IT IS A MAGNIFICANT PROPOSAL!
According to Health Care- Now, Paul Ryan’s Budget Proposal WILL ELIMINATE
MEDICARE.
THE
CHANGES WILL IMPACT THE MOST VULNERABLE AMERICANS; THE
RICH RECEIVE TAX BREAKS.
Those who are eligible for Medicare
will receive a voucher with a predetermined amount for the difference between
the voucher and the rise in insurance premiums. The problem is, the voucher
will not keep up with health care spending, and the coverage will be unaffordable to the participant. This will force
seniors and beneficiaries into the private for profit insurance market to
purchase insurance, which is the intended goal to increase profits for CEO’s
and stockholders who buy the elections through campaign contributions and media
spending.
Those under fifty –five years of age
will not be eligible for traditional Medicare. The age of eligibility will
increase by 2 months per year until it reaches 67.
The Ryan proposal WEAKENS MEDICAID by eliminating the
existing matching fund financing structure of Medicaid in 2013. Instead, each
state will receive a pre-determined block grant.According to CBO, states will be forced to reduce spending, lower the size of Medicaid programs by cutting payment rates for doctors, hospitals, and nursing homes. They will be forced to reduce the scope of benefits covered to limit eligibility.
THE OBAMA AFFORDABLE CARE ACT DID NOT CUT ANY GUARANTEED MEDICARE BENEFITS
According to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Affordable Care Act makes Medicare stronger and puts money back into senior’s pockets. Insurance premiums, that seniors pay, are reduced by 16%. It closes the gap in prescription drug coverage. Additional preventative services are provided, for screenings such as cancer, cholesterol and annual wellness checks, at no extra out of pocket expense to the senior. Hospitals are receiving new incentives to improve care by reducing hospital infections, increasing patient safety and lowering costs. New laws invest more resources to fight Medicare fraud.
1.5 million baby- boomers are enrolled in Medicare each year. The number of people receiving Medicare is higher than those paying into the system. It is predicted that the age of eligibility will have to be increased to 67 in the future. We need representatives in Washington who will work together to continue to strengthen Medicare. The funding is unsustainable and does not resolve the issue of the overall high health care costs.
Without
the Affordable Health Care Act, the Medicare system would have been broken
within 4 years. Now the program has enough money to
last 12 years. In promoting the public good, the ACA provides
millions of low income Americans with comprehensive health insurance, while
some moderate income Americans, who cannot afford comprehensive insurance, are
left on their own. More measures need to
be taken to make a more just and equitable system.
Link: http://www.healthcare.gov/index.html
this website is a tool to help you understand how the insurance reform,
Affordable Health Care Act will help you. You can learn more about the many
wellness & prevention services that insurers are supposed to cover by Aug.
2012. You will find contact information for the Consumer Assistance Program to
get help with questions and problems.
JUST
KNOW WE HAVE HAD A PROVEN, PERMINANT SOLUTION ALL ALONG
REDUCE SPENDING THAT IS NOT MAKING AMERICA
HEALTHIER
Build on the benefits gained through the Affordable Health Care
Act. 20 million Americans are still without health care, because many in
Congress wanted to keep the cost under a trillion. If you do not see health
care as a human right, just do the math and see where the waste is. The good
measures of the Affordable Health Care Act should not be repealed. How would a
good businesswoman balance the budget? She would trim the fat. Would she over
pay for her families’ needs? The government’s relationship with the “for profit”
insurance industry should come to an end. We have more control of government, at the voting booth,
than we do over the greed of private corporations.Expanding Medicare for all would fund the system, to protect its sustainability, by pooling taxes of all Americans who already pay taxes into Medicare and Social Security. The benefit of the government “not for profit”, central collection agency, (which already exists through the Medicare Administration), is that instead of a thousand insurance companies creating over head cost up to 31 %. Over head costs would be reduced to less than 5%. For most Americans there would be no increase in the amount of taxes that are already taken from their pay check. Insurance premiums would be eliminated altogether.
Ask a 5th grader what would be more cost effective and efficient? So who are the politicians working for concerning the US citizens’ right to affordable health care? Without your voice, the answer is the big money special interest groups, the Corporate Mafia, who pay salaries to Washington lobbyists in the disguise of letting the free market work. One might ask, “For whom does the free market work”?
Get Two for One
Improve Medicare for All. Solve our health care crisis & improve our economy!
Don’t Be Duped….. You Can Be Your Own Lobbyist ….. Law Makers Need To Hear From You
Tell the governor of your state that you support the Affordable
Health Care Act and to accept the federal funds that the ACA provides to give
care to low income citizens. Vermont has been a leader in Single-Payer for
years. ACA funds their system paving a way for them to more easily move their
system to a Single Payer/ Medicare for all system.
Join the “Million Letter
Campaign” at www.medicareforall.org
to receive a monthly reminder to down load a prewritten letter to sign and mail
to your representative(s). Keep in mind 900 paid lobbyist nationally are
trolling the halls of our capital representing the big money interest,
insurance and pharmaceutical companies. The lobbyists are not looking out for
your best interest. They are on the wrong side of the issue for a pay check. Collectively,
the ‘Million Letter Campaign” creates a million dollars worth of advertising
each month. There are 435 Congressional districts. The goal is to have 2 thousand
plus letters from each district sent to Congressional and Senate leaders every
month on a consistent basis, to let our representatives know there is a public
will for the Single Payer System, improved and expanded Medicare for all. Please log into the website, so that campaign
success can be tracked.Please sign up for the campaign at www.medicareforall.org. Keep the conversation among Americans about Medicare for all going. Without the voice of the people, Congress doesn’t believe there is a demand. The website has more detailed information about Single Payer and the campaign. Help the campaign website go viral by linking to face book, twitter or your favorite online social forum. Print or forward the newsletter to your friends, family and co-workers.
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