Dear Friends,
Lola Sedillo was serving chicken with rice and mixed vegetables at the Rio Bravo Senior Citizen Meal Site on Isleta Blvd on Thursday. I came by to chat with people, serve some lunch and talk to folks about some changes to Medicare that I opposed and I'm very worried about.
Del and Marge Green get their Medicare through Presbyterian Senior Care. Del had to be hospitalized for four days last year and the total bill came to $27,000. They have Social Security and Del’s pension -- not much to live on. Under traditional Medicare, they would have had to pay about $1,000 of this bill. They also would have to pay 20% of the cost of all outpatient services. But Presbyterian Senior Plan offers lower co-pays for hospitalization and outpatient service as part of their premium. Del and Marge worry that they couldn’t afford their medical bills without a plan like Presbyterian Senior Care.
Stephen and Merilyn Fish started with Lovelace when Merilyn was a teacher. Because Stephen is retired military, Tricare supplements their Medicare. They switched to Lovelace Senior Plan when they turned 65 and they like it.
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Rep. Heather Wilson meets with Stephen and
Merilyn Fish at the Rio Bravo Senior Citizen Meal
Site. |
Rep. Heather Wilson meets with Del and Marge
Green at the Rio Bravo Senior Citizen Meal
Site. |
Both of these programs in addition to Humana Gold Choice and Blue Medicare PPO are at risk because of a bill passed by the House of Representatives last week. The Democrat leadership pushed through a partisan bill to expand the Children's Health Insurance program to families making up to $60,000 to $80,000 a year and, to pay for it, they took money away from a program called "Medicare Advantage" -- which is managed care for Medicare. While not all that popular in other parts of the country, 40% of seniors in Albuquerque get their Medicare through a Medicare Advantage plan.
If the bill becomes law, the estimates are that 3.2 million Americans will lose the choice of having Medicare Advantage and will have to go back to fee for service Medicare. For New Mexicans that may mean changing doctors and increased out of pocket costs.
Merilyn asked me why more people don't know about this. The bill was introduced at the last minute and the Democrat leadership jammed it through with no hearings, no subcommittee mark-up, minimal time to debate on the floor of the House and no amendments allowed. Sunlight and time are the enemy of a bill like this. When reporters write about it and people find out what's in it, they complain and argue about it and force it to be changed. That's inconvenient for the folks who don't want to allow programs like Presbyterian Senior Care Plan and Lovelace Senior Plan to continue.
I support continuing the children's health insurance program. But we don't have to cut Medicare to do it.
Good to be home,
The Wall Street Journal Discusses Medicare Advantage:
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“…the House would eviscerate Medicare Advantage, an innovative 2003 program that allows seniors to choose among various private health plans. It's growing rapidly and currently serves some 8.3 million seniors, or about 18% of the eligible population. According to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, most are the urban poor, seniors in rural areas and minorities. No doubt they are attracted by the additional benefits, increased access to specialized medicine, and coordinated preventative services that Advantage offers over the traditional version.
The House bill will eliminate $50 billion in Medicare Advantage funding over the next five years and $157 billion through 2017. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the funding cutbacks will likely result in three million people losing their Advantage coverage, and the rest facing reduced benefits and higher out-of-pocket costs.” |
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The Wall Street Journal
Editorial; August 9, 2007; Page A12 |
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