AMAC: The budget wars in Washington stress the need to save Medicare

PRLog (Press Release) - Mar. 14, 2013 - BOHEMIA, NY – The budget wars began in earnest this week in Congress and Medicare, one of the most important issues for seniors, is finally getting the recognition it deserves in Congress, albeit as a “bone of contention” between Democrats and Republicans, Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature American Citizens, said.

The Republicans, fearing we’re going broke at an ever increasing pace, want to ensure Medicare survives the looming financial chaos.  So, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan has proposed that "Starting in 2024, we'll offer eligible seniors a range of insurance plans from which they can choose--including traditional Medicare--and help them pay the premiums."

Democrats, on the other hand, favor the status quo hoping they can get new taxes through to cover the ever increasing costs of health care.  “It’s a risky option because even new revenues will not be enough to keep Medicare solvent,” Weber noted.  “That would leave seniors without much coverage at all, putting older Americans and those who are growing older in a world of pain, both figuratively and literally.”

There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that we face a crisis.  In fact, Weber pointed out, seniors view the threat of the country’s ultimate financial collapse as significantly more serious than the possibility of a terrorist attack or a rogue war such as the one threatened by North Korea.  

“Ninety-five percent of respondents in a new survey we conducted on our Web site this week identified America’s fiscal mismanagement as their greatest concern,” the AMAC chief explained.

“That tells me that now is not the time to be playing partisan politics.  We need the President, the Senate and the House to sit down and address the future of Medicare in a fair and equitable manner.  Our lawmakers need also to recognize the plight of seniors, particularly those on low, fixed incomes who, nonetheless, paid their Medicare premiums diligently during their working years so that they would be ensured of health care coverage in their later years when they could work no longer,” Weber stated.

“This is not fodder for electioneering; it is a matter of life and death for millions of older citizens.”

NOTE TO EDITORS: Dan Weber is available for telephone interviews on this issue.  Editors/reporters may contact John Grimaldi at 917-846-8485 or jpgrimaldi@verizon.net to set up a call.

ABOUT AMAC
The Association of Mature American Citizens [http://www.amac.us] is a vibrant, vital and conservative alternative to those organizations, such as AARP, that dominate the choices for mature Americans who want a say in the future of the nation.  Where those other organizations may boast of their power to set the agendas for their memberships, AMAC takes its marching orders from its members.  We act and speak on their behalf, protecting their interests, and offering a conservative insight on how to best solve the problems they face today.