|
I’m used to the communications battles on any issue of major importance, so I welcome the opportunity to jump right into to debate the substance of an issue. But, I get really mad when people are provided information that is simply wrong and intended to scare them. On Tuesday, a nice gentlemen joined a telephone town hall that I hosted on health care and he conveyed to me an email that he received. This email claimed that senior citizens would have to meet with doctors every year to discuss end of life issues, and at 70 they would no longer receive insurance. Absolutely false. No senior citizen is going to lose their health insurance. Indeed, the reform strengthens Medicare by eliminating co-pays and deductibles for preventative services, phasing on the prescription drug “donut hole” to lower drug costs and extending the solvency of the program for the future.
As to end of life care choices, the claims being made are also completely false. The provision included in H.R. 3200 simply allows Medicare to pay for a conversation between a patient and their doctor if the patient wishes to speak with their doctor about advanced directives and living wills. This benefit would be purely voluntary.
The AARP strongly supports the provision, saying, “This measure would not only help people make the best decisions for themselves, but also better ensure that their wishes are followed. To suggest otherwise is a gross, and even cruel, distortion—especially for any family that has been forced to make the difficult decisions on care for loved ones approaching the end of their lives. AARP is committed to improving the quality, effectiveness, and affordability of health care for our 40 million members and their families. We will fight any measure that would prevent individuals and their doctors from making their own health care decisions. We will also fight the campaign of misinformation that vested interests are using to try to scare older Americans in order to protect the status quo.”
|
|
|
|
|
