MEDICARE - Case of the Fox Guarding the Henhouse

There is much turmoil about Medicare. Ordinary citizens are showing their concern over government policies in this area. We need to be reminded that the GOP have always been against Medicare and have fought against it, in various ways, since its inception.

"AFSCME Testimony to the U.S. House on Medicare Advantage and the Federal Budget"

Statement for the Record of the
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) on
Medicare Advantage and the Federal Budget before the
Budget Committee, U.S. House of Representatives
June 28, 2007

Excerpts from:

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) represents 1.4 million employees who work for federal, state, and local governments, health care institutions and non-profit agencies, and an additional 230,000 retiree members. AFSCME and its members are proud of labor's historic role in the creation of Medicare and we remain strong defenders of the Medicare program from those who would undermine its foundations.

When President Johnson signed Medicare into law on July 30, 1965, he spoke of the profound promise of Medicare to our nation and its citizens:

“No longer will older Americans be denied the healing miracle of modern medicine. No longer will illness crush and destroy the savings that they have so carefully put away over a lifetime so that they might enjoy dignity in their later years. No longer will young families see their own incomes, and their own hopes, eaten away simply because they are carrying out their deep moral obligations to their parents, and to their uncles, and their aunts.

And no longer will this Nation refuse the hand of justice to those who have given a lifetime of service and wisdom and labor to the progress of this progressive country.”

For today's 42 million Medicare beneficiaries and our nation, the need for Medicare to remain a sanctuary against financial ruin caused by the vicissitudes of illness and disability rings as true in 2007 as it did nearly 42 years ago.

Today, the financial security of Medicare is threatened by the drive to privatize the program. Overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans are causing a shift of beneficiaries out of the more efficient government-administered program into more costly private plans. Overpayments to these private plans may make them highly profitable, but they also have a deleterious impact on the federal budget, the Medicare program and the Medicare beneficiaries.

The following are the "bullets" in the full Statement for the Record:

• Overpayments to Private Medicare Advantage Plans Threaten Medicare's Financial Solvency


• Overpayments to Private Medicare Advantage Plans Are Increasing State Medicaid Costs


• All Medicare Beneficiaries are Already Paying More


• Medicare Disadvantage Plans


• Congress Must Stop the Insurance Industry's Fleecing of Medicare

Of course, read the full article for details.

The GOP and conservatism to date has always been about money. Everything has a price limit, including your health and life. If it costs too much you should not get whatever. Of course the rich do not have to worry about their pocketbook limiting their healthcare nor much else. If the cost of a safety feature is too high for big business, fight against it, public safety be damn. If your drugs cost too much, don't have a government program that helps pay for it, legislate a program so the Pharmas can rape the public for profit.

The present GOP and conservative modus operandi puts the dollar before people always. They will always protect the people who already have enough money not to worry, at the expense of the middle and lower income class.