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Several things do not make sense here, and it indicates something very threatening, yet again. Republicans are taking another step along this road where they are deciding that none of us are "good enough" to be on any of these programs, and destroying the universality of all Federal programs. The numbers do not make sense, as people with incomes far below what was claimed here, have already had Part B (hospitalization, emergency and long-term care) increases this past year--it went up by over 10% during 2006. I think part of the problem is the complete disaster that the Part D prescription mess was, with seniors unable to afford their prescriptions or premiums at all, people not signing up to the program (even though you cannot get any information, only how "wonderful" it all is), and people cut off Medicaid, Medigap, and programs of the pharmaceutical industry itself, where they were subsidized for offering free prescription drugs to those who cannot afford it.
Republicans have been trying to cut the payments to physicians for office visits for years, and now this new Medicare bill will do it, even though the main, and increasing, expense, is coming from hospital costs, not doctors' visits. The Part D corporate giveaway have been a disaster so huge, that it is bankrupting the larger Federal budget, scary and unstoppable, they cannot make up the amount by gouging Part D signers, and will not admit the crisis. They have made several attempts over the past several years to commercialize Medicare/Medicaid, and Social Security, kill Medicaid, cut services, cut payments to doctors, shift patients onto HMOs, and countless other things--and now this threat.
This will not only affect higher-income seniors--the claim doesn't even make sense, since there have been recent huge increases already, and they hit everyone, whether they can afford it or not. Making it a "means tested" program will change the entire premise of the obligations of Government to its citizens, and by appearing "reasonable" and "correct," will start dismantling the entire program right before the wool over our eyes. The figures they give are not even real! Remember this is the same crowd that passed the credit-card-industry-written bill enslaving people to their inflated, usurious debts by calling it a Bankruptcy Bill, and claiming that only deadbeats and people who splurge on themselves will be affected. Then it turned out that most personal bankruptcies are from medical emergencies and bills, and loss of a job or other income. Seemed like a "good idea," the ways THEY told it...
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