claire's reply letter medicare

August 9, 2012 Dear Thank you for contacting me regarding Medicare and Medicaid. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond. As you may know, on March 20, 2012, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin released a budget proposal that calls for massive cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and would drastically change these programs at the expense of beneficiaries. Although I am fully committed to addressing our federal deficit in the long term, I am strongly opposed to dismantling these programs as the House Republican proposal suggests. I was deeply disappointed when the Republican-controlled House of Representatives fully embraced the Ryan budget proposal, voting to pass it by a 228 to 191 vote. Medicaid and Medicare are vital programs that provide medical care to many of America's seniors, persons with disabilities and children. Medicare was enacted, in part, because the 1950 Census found that only 1 in 8 seniors had health insurance. Private insurance companies considered elderly Americans as too big of a risk. Companies continued to deny coverage to older Americans until the enactment of Medicare. With Medicare, seniors no longer have to live in fear of losing affordable health insurance when they need it the most, and the Medicaid program has provided an essential health safety net for seniors, children, the poor and disabled as well. Our nation should not return to a time when the ability for seniors to access healthcare is at the whim of insurance companies. The House Republican FY 2013 Budget, drafted by Representative Ryan, would change Medicare from a program that provides guaranteed healthcare coverage to seniors, to a voucher program where each senior would be forced to purchase either private health insurance or a form of traditional Medicare that has much higher out-of-pocket costs for seniors. This would shift substantial costs to Medicare beneficiaries, and would be especially burdensome for low-income seniors who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. The Ryan Budget would also repeal some coverage Medicare beneficiaries currently receive, including stripping the reforms that will close the gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage, commonly known as the "donut hole," and that provide Medicare beneficiaries coverage for often life-saving preventive health services with no cost-sharing. Such drastic changes to Medicare that would jeopardize seniors' access to quality and affordable health coverage, strip benefits, turn back on our nation's promises to our elders, and add costs to seniors already struggling to get by are wholly unacceptable. Representative Ryan's proposal would also deeply cut Medicaid spending by turning the program into a block grant. Medicaid is a cost-sharing partnership between the federal government and the states. The federal government, through matching funds, pays over 65 percent of the cost-sharing arrangement in Missouri, and in return, it requires Missouri to cover certain groups of uninsured seniors, children, people with disabilities and the poor. Turning the Medicaid program into a "block grant" would harm children and seniors in Missouri. In part, the proposal would force states to shoulder a greater share of the costs of the program, something states can ill afford, and so will likely force a reduction in the number of people who can receive critical Medicaid health coverage. We need a real plan that seeks to control costs in the Medicaid program while protecting current beneficiaries and making the program sustainable for the future. Denying Medicaid to those in need merely shifts the location of their care to emergency rooms and the cost to Missouri citizens through higher insurance premiums. Unless we as a nation decide to let sick, poor people die without getting medical care, we must figure out the most low-cost way to serve them. That certainly is not in emergency rooms. While I oppose turning Medicare into a voucher program and turning Medicaid into a "block grant", I understand that if the federal government is to address its long-term deficit problems, which is driven in large part by the projected growth in costs in programs like Medicare and Medicaid, we must look into ways to reform these programs to ensure they remain solvent for future beneficiaries and for the government's fiscal health. However, the Republican plan badly misses the mark by disproportionately making America's poor, elderly, and disabled shoulder these budget cuts. I am hopeful Congress will explore more responsible reforms and innovative approaches to curbing increases in healthcare costs, to protect Medicare and Medicaid for the future. Again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance to you on this or any other issue. Sincerely, Claire McCaskill United States Senator P.S. If you would like more information about resources that can help Missourians, or what I am doing in the Senate on your behalf, please sign up for my email newsletter at http://mccaskill.senate.gov. ------- Claire: universal healthcare is the answer; not romneycare/obamacare