In almost every press release, Phil Roe claims that he is working to protect Social Security and Medicare. He has to say that to get re-elected. But anyone who looks at what he has done, and is doing, will quickly see that he is only interested in helping the wealthy.
Phil Roe is the sponsor of legislation passed by the House of Representatives — the Medicare Decisions Accountability Act — that would take Medicare reimbursement rate setting out of the hands of professionals (a panel of medical professionals) and put it in the hands of Congress.
According to Roe, this will help “save” Medicare by putting rate-setting in the hands of “responsible” Congressmen.
What Roe’s legislation will really do is allow Congressmen to mandate higher payments to their campaign contributors and increase the drain on Medicare.
Phil Roe supports the Republican plan to turn Medicare into a voucher system that would give seniors a fixed amount that they could use to buy their own insurance.
What Phil Roe doesn’t tell seniors is that the Republican plan does not require insurance companies to sell insurance to seniors who are already sick and in the most need of Medicare.
Phil Roe also doesn’t tell seniors that the legislation he supports does nothing to prevent insurance companies from charging seniors any amount they want.
Phil Roe also doesn’t tell seniors that if the proposed voucher is not enough to buy needed insurance, they’re on their own and seniors and their families will have to pay the difference — or go without insurance.
Phil Roe doesn’t acknowledge that the Republican plan is really just an effort to shift more of the health care cost for seniors to the seniors themselves.
Phil Roe does not talk about the fact that the voucher system he supports creates a new market for insurance companies and gives them another way to add to their profits.
Phil Roe supports the Republican plan to “save” Social Security by reducing future Social Security benefits.
Phil Roe and the Republicans cannot risk offending seniors, so they emphasize that their plan will only affect future retirees. But this means that —
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The children of today’s seniors are going to get less, so …
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The children of today’s seniors will be more dependent on their own children.
Phil Roe also doesn’t acknowledge that he and the Republicans in Congress are refusing to even consider increasing revenues for the Social Security system and Medicare. Under the current system:
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Average working Americans pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on all their income.
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But the wealthiest Americans, who are entitled to the same benefits, only pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on only a fraction of their income.
Phil Roe and other Republicans politicians wouldn’t dare make drastic cut in the benefits for current —seniors. They would never get re-elected if they did. But they have no problem cutting benefits for the children of current seniors. Do they think we won’t notice what they are doing to our children?
There are many other ways that the cost of the Medicare system can be contained.
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We can limit benefits for the very wealthy who don’t need a government system to provide them with qualify health case.
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We can reduce the cost of “defensive medicine” (excessive testing to avoid lawsuits) through appropriate tort reform.
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We can reduce the cost of caring for senior by providing better health care to working Americans and preventing them from developing the conditions that require costly treatment later in life. [This is one of the goals of "Obamacare," and the Republican politicians hate it.]
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We can authorize Medicare payment for services provided by qualified professionals other than “doctors.”
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We can aggressively pursue fraud in the Medicare system.
But we cannot do anything until we elect a Congressman who will put party-politics aside and work for a solution that will serve the real interests of seniors and their families.
Comments or questions are welcome.