5 Health Care Lies Being Spread to Seniors
Anti-reformers caught trying to misinform America's elders.
Over the past few weeks, false claims surrounding health care reform have ricocheted across the country—online, on television and radio, and (loudly) at town hall meetings. Sadly, health reform opponents are propagating bogus information that preys on senior citizens’ worst fears, not only to push them to oppose health care reform, but to cast doubt on the Obama administration’s commitment to the welfare of older Americans.
“The ones that bother me the most are the hysterical claims using words like ‘euthanasia’ and ‘death panels’ when all the proposed bill says is that optional end-of-life counseling would be available so seniors know what their options are,” said NEA-Retired President Barbara Matteson. “That’s a real benefit for seniors and it’s shameful that some would scare us out of it with these outrageous claims.”
Here are five of the most common and most egregious lies directed at seniors about some of the health care proposals currently under consideration, followed by the facts:
LIE #1: The proposed reform will destroy Medicare, leaving seniors with inadequate health coverage—or no coverage at all!
FACT: “Nobody is talking about reducing Medicare benefits,” said President Obama at an AARP tele-town hall. “Medicare benefits are there because people contributed into a system. It works; we don’t want to change it.”
In fact, the reform proposal aims to strengthen Medicare, making its services easier to access, and ensuring its solvency for future generations. This will be accomplished by improving the information flow between care providers, thereby eliminating the need to repeat tests and paperwork, and cutting wasteful spending, including the overpayments made to private health insurance companies that profit from the Medicare Advantage plan.
Bob Kocher of the White House National Economic Council and a former medical doctor talks more about how the reform package would affect Medicare on the White House’s health care reform info page.
LIE #2: The plan ignores the special health needs of older Americans in favor of the young, the healthy, and the wealthy.
FACT: Congresswoman Ginny Browne-Waite (R-FL), who declared on the House floor that the proposed health care bill “essentially says to America’s seniors drop dead,” must have ignored the parts that call for waiving deductibles and copayments for Medicare-covered preventive health care services; simplifying the application process for financial relief for low-income seniors; and securing deep discounts for the eight million seniors caught in the “donut hole,” the prescription drug coverage gap in Medicare Part D.
LIE #3: Seniors will be forced to leave their current doctors, and will face long waits when scheduling with new care providers.
FACT: As the Alliance for Retired Americans explains in its August fact sheet, health insurance reform would preserve every person’s right to choose health care providers, while ensuring that doctors are reimbursed fairly for quality care and private insurance companies are no longer overpayed for their services.
LIE #4: Long-term health care costs will soar, stranding seniors when they need medical care the most.
FACT: It’s unclear why Congressman Leonard Lance (R-NJ) has publicly denied that accessible long-term coverage is part of the proposed bill, but if the reform bill passes, an affordable long-term care system (the CLASS Act) would be available to seniors and disabled people for the first time ever.
LIE #5: The plan promotes the euthanasia of seniors; the Obama administration supports death panels!
FACT: Just because a certain former Alaska governor put it on her Facebook page doesn’t make it true. It’s hard to believe that current members of Congress—including John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Virginia Foxx (R-NC)—as well as the former lieutenant governor of New York Betsy McCaughey are among those making such shocking and ghoulish accusations.
Major news providers and organizations from the Associated Press to CBS News to The Chicago Tribune to FactCheck.org have already debunked this myth. For the record: Neither the President nor Congress supports euthanizing seniors. The health care reform bill simply provides coverage that would pay for optional advanced-care planning sessions with medical professionals every five years.
NEA knows that quality health care is essential to keeping the nation’s educators, students, and retirees active and prepared for learning, teaching, and mentoring. The Association’s vision of a successful health care reform package would make quality, affordable health care coverage a reality for every person in America. The reform must guarantee a choice of plans and providers, and a government-sponsored public option should be established immediately.
Take action on health care reform: Tell Congress to demand a public option and to reject proposals to tax employer-provided benefits.
“My bottom line is that I don’t want the insurance and pharmaceutical companies to win again, like they did with Medicare Part D,” says Matteson. “Seniors should read as much as they can to stay informed.”
COMMENTS:
Where are all of the comments from the first few days of September?? That's ok...we'll just keep adding, you just keep taking away.
The Government and Banks produce nothing. They are parasites that take from the people! AND a country built and designed on credit is a house built on sand with no foundation How can a government that has bankrupt everything that they have created be expected to run our Health Care, our car industry etc? ie: The post office, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. The Federal Government has become like HAL from the movie “2001 Space Odyssey”. Obsessed with control and power to the detriment of the citizens of the nation. In recent days there have been congressmen that have said they will ignore the wishes of the people, our Senator Reid said that people who were voicing opposition were evil. What kind of government is that? 1- HEALTH CARE REFORM A-The President says if you like your plan you can keep your Plan. 1- Wrong! Not if your plan doesn’t follow {see section 122(b) and 1239(b) } the mandates of the CDC, United States Preventative Services Task force, and a Federal Health Benefits Advisory Committee. Every American would be required to have insurance that meets the Governments definition of “acceptable insurance” 2- A Government plan similar to Medicare would be set up which would compete with Private Insurance. Subsidies and cost-shifting would create prohibitive competition for Private Insurance. 3- The government would undertake comparative-effectiveness research and cost-effectiveness research and use the results of that research to impose practice guidelines on providers, initially in Medicare and Medicaid, but because there are no restrictions on what the government can do, the guidelines would probably extend such rationing to private insurance plans a-Those guidelines take the decision for what medical decisions are needed out of the patient and doctors hands and place it in the hands of bureaucrats. THESE ARE NOT MYTHS OR FALSE INFORMATION. THEY ARE IN THE PROPOSED BILL. THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO SAFEGUARDS WRITTEN IN THE BILL TO STOP THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FROM HAVING DECISION MAKING POWER OVER OUR HEALTHCARE. B- Any healthcare reform bill absolutely must: 1- Require mandatory verification of legal residency for subsidized healthcare." 2- Require that the bill apply to the President, his cabinet, staff, Congress and all their staffs, and all federal departments and bureaus
I find it interesting that there were several comments, along with mine, that mysteriously disappeared. Hmmmm.
I have READ the proposed bill. Your "facts" are wrong. The bill does not use the words that are commonly tossed around in the media; however, the intent is the same. This health care, or, now, health insurance plan, is the most dangerous document to our freedoms.
I support the idea of health care for all Americans. I know of a 54 year old man who suffers from manic depression and bipolar mental health issues. He has had a long history of joblessness, divorce, isolation, and loneliness because of his mental health issues. He has a family that can no longer help him, although they have tried. They too are the victims of the system you are trying to fix. There are millions of Americans with the same issue. When we see reports of people who shoot innocent people at high schools such as Columbine, universities like Virginia Tech, and more recently Health Clubs in Pittsburgh, I can only pray for the change you are working so hard to achieve to come. These are the people we hear about after the fact. What about the ones we can help before they carry out their plan? The public judges them as crazy, but we are all responsible for some blame when we refuse to provide such a basic need as accessible health care. Is the cost of human life so disposable that we can afford to allow this to continue. Is the only way for these people to get health care in prison? The tax paying public need to become aware that when health care issues are addressed there could be stronger family units, less violence, less imprisonment, less unemployment, and less poverty. A healthy public is more productive, better educated, and has a safer quality of life for Americans in all phases of their lives. When we are spending less on the dysfunction, there is money available for funding high quality health care. Initially, it will take a lot of money, but as we see the change, we will see the benefits. Please continue the hope of a better quality of life for all Americans through health care.
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