Mike Ross on preserving Medicare

Last week, the House passed a budget for the 2013 fiscal year, H. Con. Res. 112, The Republican Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Resolution.  I voted against the Republican Budget because although it does cut federal spending, it ignores our nation’s fundamental deficit spending problem.  In fact, the Republican Budget doesn’t balance the budget until 2040, and accumulates more than $3 trillion in debt over the next ten years.

Making matters worse, the Republican budget also fundamentally privatizes Medicare, transforming it from a guaranteed benefit program into a voucher program.  Under this program, rather than having guaranteed coverage of benefits, seniors would receive a voucher and would need to use that voucher to purchase their insurance.

This voucher plan places the threat of rising health care costs on the backs of senior citizens and individuals with disabilities. As health care costs continue to rise, the Republicans’ plan caps the rate of increase of the voucher payment to seniors, rather than ensuring the voucher payments keep pace with actual health care costs. 

As a result, people who rely on Medicare will be forced to make a terrible choice.  Either they will no longer be able to afford the health benefits that are currently provided under Medicare, or they will be forced to pay much more just to maintain their existing benefits. In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the plan could increase out of pocket costs by $5,900 and lead to diminished access to quality care.

This means that Arkansans, who are approaching retirement age, would receive only a voucher to purchase their insurance when they retire instead of receiving Medicare as we know it. As any senior knows, the older you get, the more difficult it is to find affordable and adequate health insurance.  That’s exactly why Medicare was created – to ensure America’s seniors got the health care they needed to live long, healthy lives. Under the Republican budget, private insurance plans will aggressively pursue the healthiest, least expensive enrollees, thereby ending Medicare as we know it which is currently the lifeline for many Arkansas seniors.

When the Republicans tried to privatize Medicare last year with their budget proposal and when they tried to partially privatize Social Security under President Bush, I fought them every step of the way because Social Security and Medicare are valuable programs that keep half of all seniors out of poverty.  Now that the Republicans are coming after Medicare again, I will continue to fight their efforts.  I want to trim our deficits and return to the days of balanced budgets more than anyone else, but not on the backs of our seniors who did nothing to get us into this mess in the first place.  

We need a bipartisan, commonsense budget proposal that stops deficit spending while protecting our seniors.  The American people deserve a serious and honest conversation about our budget, not one that is rushed and partisan.  It should not be about politics, it should be about working together to get the job done for the American people.

The federal budget is about more than just dollars and cents.  It is a statement of our values and priorities.  My priority is and has always been protecting Arkansas’s seniors and that’s what I’ll continue to do as Congressman for Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District.