New Cuts in Medicare/Medicaid Unfair to Seniors

Obama's Plan to Reform Health Care at the Expense 
of Medicare is Not a Common Sense Solution

As you may know, President Obama used his weekly radio address last Saturday to outline new cuts to Medicare and Medicaid benefits, totaling over $300 billion.  My continuous fear throughout the health care reform process has been that Democrats will opt to pay for changes to the system on the backs of seniors.  This is unfair to the seniors who have worked hard their whole lives.  Our nation's 44 million elderly cannot be ignored in favor of trying to provide coverage to a few million people – many of whom chose not to buy insurance.

Among the cuts the President has proposed are reducing payments to hospitals that care for large numbers of the uninsured by $106 billion.  President Obama asserts that because so many people will have health insurance after his reforms, these hospitals will no longer need the money.  But that doesn't account for illegal immigrants, who use the emergency room since they cannot obtain care elsewhere.  Emergency rooms visits are a major driver of health care costs, and if hospitals cannot receive aid from the federal government, they may be forced to eliminate valuable resources you or I may desperately need in the future.

There is no question that this nation needs health care reform, but I will never in good conscience support a proposal that cuts benefits to the neediest constituents.  You can be sure I will oppose any effort by the Obama administration to cut your Medicare benefits. 

Thank you,  

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