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Seniors Bring $2 Bills and 48,000 Petitions to Congress, Urge Medicare Reform
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
For Immediate Release
Alliance for Retired Americans Seniors Bring $2 Bills and 48,000 Petitions to Congress, Urge Medicare Reform
“Private Insurance Companies Keep Getting More, While Seniors Keep Getting Less”
Washington, DC – This afternoon, seniors from the Alliance for Retired Americans joined the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) on Capitol Hill to deliver 48,000 signed petitions urging the Senate to eliminate billions in subsidies to private insurance companies.
Each held a $2 bill, representing the amount they pay on top of already rising monthly Medicare premiums to subsidize the government’s overpayments to Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans.
“While each $2 bill may seem minor on its own, the total cost is significant. And so is the total effect on seniors,” said Ed Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance. “Each month, private insurance companies keep getting more, while seniors keep getting less.”
Most of America’s nearly 43 million Medicare beneficiaries receive their health care services through the Medicare program but one in five receive care through MA plans provided by private insurance companies under contract with Medicare. These plans cost the government 12 to 19 percent more than traditional coverage.
As a result, the four out of five seniors enrolled in traditional Medicare must pay an extra $2 each month on top of their already rising premiums to subsidize the government’s overpayment for every one senior enrolled in a MA plan.
Sadie Coleman, Vice President of the Maryland/DC Alliance for Retired Americans and traditional Medicare beneficiary, talked about her personal fear of Medicare privatization. She worries such efforts will weaken the program, leaving her children and grandchildren unable to afford the same health care she now receives.
“All seniors should have equal access to quality health care through traditional Medicare, and not be subjected to the whims of for-profit insurance companies,” said Coyle.
Senator Edward Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, accepted the petition delivery. The Senate is expected to consider Medicare reform legislation in the coming weeks.
“While the President chides Congress for ‘wasteful Washington spending’, at the same time he and his allies continue to defend providing billions of dollars in subsidies to the insurance industry. Taxpayers and seniors should not have to foot the bill for overpayments to an industry already seeing record profits thanks to the privatization of Medicare. The Medicare Advantage program is the textbook definition of ‘wasteful Washington spending’ and should be reformed,” said Max Richtman, NCPSSM Executive Vice President
Contact: Marcie Kohenak (202) 637-5178, mkohenak@retiredamericans.org