On July 30, 2015, The Palm Beach Post published this guest opinion column by Rep. Alan grayson, (FL-9):
Commentary: Seniors deserve a Medicare birthday present
Fifty years ago this week, President Lyndon Johnson signed the law that created Medicare and Medicaid — the most important health care programs in our country’s history, prior to the Affordable Care Act. With one stroke of his pen, Johnson guaranteed both poor Americans and older Americans the right to high-quality, affordable medical treatment.
Thanks to Medicare, for 50 years now, our seniors have received the health care that they’ve needed to stay healthy and live a full life. Since Medicare was enacted, the poverty rate among seniors has dropped almost two-thirds; American women’s life expectancy has increased by five years; and American men’s life expectancy has increased by eight years. More than 3 million Floridians, including 254,000 residents of Palm Beach County, are enjoying the benefits of this health-saving, lifesaving program.
Commentary: Seniors deserve a Medicare birthday present photo
U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson represents Florida’s 9th Congressional District.
But despite this success, there are gaps in Medicare coverage that need to be closed. The most glaring gap is the fact that Medicare does not provide basic medical coverage for seniors’ eyes, ears and teeth. It’s as though Medicare assumes that seniors don’t need to see, hear or chew.
We’re not talking about exotic, high-tech treatments; we’re talking about no Medicare coverage for eyeglasses, eye exams, hearing aids, and cavity fillings and dentures. We’re talking about no coverage for medical conditions that lead to blindness, deafness, lost teeth and serious gum disease, which has been strongly linked to heart disease. It is unthinkable that we deny our seniors coverage for this elementary level of care.
There are 2.7 million seniors in America who are blind. How many of them would be able to see today if they had received a simple annual eye exam as part of their Medicare coverage?
Vision loss is gradual imprisonment, with no possibility of parole — no driving, no cooking, no entertainment, and, ultimately, no communication. That isolation not only steals our seniors’ independence, it relegates the responsibilities of basic care onto busy loved ones and friends.
Vision loss also increases the likelihood of accidents and accidental injury and death. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates direct annual medical costs for older American adults with vision impairment at more than $8 billion.
Medicare is a promise that we make to ourselves, the young to the old, one generation to the next. The promise is that after you reach your 65th birthday, your medical needs will be met. To keep that promise, our seniors have paid into the system for as much as half a century before they receive a single earned benefit. They deserve the best care that we can provide for them.
This week, to honor the 50th anniversary of this lifesaving program we call Medicare, I am introducing the “Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act.” This bill will amend Title XVIII, the Medicare provision of the Social Security Act, to repeal the arbitrary exclusion from Medicare coverage of eyeglasses, eye exams, hearing aids, hearing exams and dental care. Two short lines in the U.S. Code have barred that coverage for 50 years; we simply delete those lines. Congress should enact this quick, easy and necessary reform.
Medicare should provide health coverage for every part of your body. More than 50 million Americans enjoy Medicare coverage. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Medicare, let’s guarantee to 50 million Americans the health care that they need.
