Thank you for the excellent June 16 editorial, “Turning his back on elderly, their doctors.” As a senior citizen and an officer in the Greater Bristol Chapter of AARP, I am very pleased that our Congress, with overwhelming support, has voted to keep Medicare fair when addressing premium payments of the elderly, to not support the president’s efforts to cut physicians payments by 10.6 percent and to provide for electronic prescribing.
AARP has lobbied Congress for several months about this legislation, and I am pleased that every Tennessee congressman – except Rep. Lincoln Davis (who did not vote) and Rep. John Duncan – supported AARP’s position. In Virginia, both senators and our local representative, Rick Boucher, supported our position.
Tennessee Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker originally supported the 10.6 percent cut for doctors but changed their positions.
Nationally, more than 1.2 million messages were sent to Congress and the White House by AARP members. In a recent survey, AARP found that among adults older than 50, 81 percent oppose additional increases to Medicare premiums for Medicare Part B (which are nearly $100 a month now), and 66 percent of those polled are less likely to vote for members of Congress who support further increases in Medicare Part B premiums. The recent votes truly represent a victory for the elderly in America and their doctors.
However, as pointed out in your editorial, this piece of legislation is not a final solution to the problem of the ever-increasing cost of Medicare. It will become insolvent if Congress does not find some way to slow the rapid growth of health care costs in America and find solutions that are fair to all Americans, doctors, health care providers and hospitals. Time is running out for Medicare and Medicaid as we now know it.
Gilbert L. Bailey
Bristol, Tenn.
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