Wrath of seniors hovers over U.S. Medicare debate (3rd rail of politics)

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N21364368.htm

WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - In the so-called Medicare "war room" deep in the U.S. Capitol, Democrats Friday night showed a 14-year-old videotape of enraged senior citizens in flowered shirts pounding on the car of one of the nation's most powerful lawmakers outside the Golden Diner Club in Chicago.

The lesson, they said, is that the fight over the mostly-Republican authored bill to add a drug benefit to Medicare and inject market competition won't be over until it's over. They predicted a backlash.

"Seniors know a bad deal when they see one," said Illinois Democrat Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

In 1988, Congress passed a law to cover "catastrophic" health expenses under Medicare, and to provide some assistance in paying for prescription drugs.

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[ninkasi]

1. As a somewhat senior, I can tell you why

we get so irate when they try to screw with Medicare. When you're in our 20's, 30's, even 40's, you've got a chance to work for more years, and save to help in your old age. When you're disabled, or 60ish, or both, you don't have that option.

I take six prescription meds a day. I pay a small copayment for the generic ones, and this benefit is one of the main reasons I stayed at a soul destroying, exhausting job for 25 years, so that I could be self sufficient. Under the new plan, I'll lose. I'll have to decide then which meds matter most, and which I can do without.

No insurance company is going to give me coverage, and my sole source of income is SSD. This bill might be "better than nothing" for some; for me, it's a tragedy waiting to happen. Multiply my story by hundreds of thousands, and you have the reason seniors are upset.

[farmboxer]

2. Bush's First Treas. Sec. Paul O'Neil Said In An Interview

with "Finacial Times' the he wants to get rid of social security, medicare and corporate taxes!

Well, he indicated that Bush was all for it! People have to wake up and vote, but we have to fight the Republican manufactured and programmed voting machines also.

[Born Free]

6. I agree

"we get so irate when they try to screw with Medicare. When you're in our 20's, 30's, even 40's, you've got a chance to work for more years, and save to help in your old age. When you're disabled, or 60ish, or both, you don't have that option."

I am not is those shoes yet, but know I could become disabled in the blink of any eye, I resigned from AARP and will not contribute anything to them again.

We need to get more AARP members to sign on with MoveOn.Org , it is becoming a strong activist group and will not "sell out" the seniors. MoveOn really needs more people that can share their time and expertise making things happen to protect America from this right wing takeover.

[GCP]

9. I also cancelled my AARP membership and told them why

I'm a member of Moveon.org and Truemajority, both have more true democratic chops than AARP, who must be losing members by the bucket-load.

[reprobate]

25. AARP just lost my membership.

marshalplan, you should see the letters lambasting aarp for supporting this drug company welfare plan. Seniors are pissed. This is one group that VOTES. AARP may have just given the election to democrats with their support of the repugs.

I've been a Moveon.org member for a while, and just joined Allience for Retired Americans, after cancelling AARP. Recommend anyone who sends aarp money to rethink their decision on what organization to support.

[fishnfla]

11. As a health care provider who deals with Medicare HMO's

I cant even begin to tell you how bad this bill is! But I do know that these elderly folks, defeated by the ravages of aging and poor health, fixed incomes and all, know what the problem is. They cant do much else, but thanks god at least for now they are free to vote.

The Dem candidates need to hammer Bush on this.

[calimary]

34. Yes, they do, and WE NEED to hammer them: 1 (800) 839 - 5276

the TOLL FREE Capitol Hill switchboard. Call it first thing Monday morning and ask to be transfered to ANYBODY's office in the House and/or Senate. They'll do it FREE!!!!!

Tell the rethugs just how you feel about them. It won't cost anything! Tell the Dems to get some spine, dammit! THAT won't cost anything, either.

[54anickel]

17. Damned straight ninkasi! I get so irritated hearing folks tell you to

plan for your retirement. Now it's the 401K, privatizing SS for the younger folks.

We DID plan for retirement, saved what we could, got good jobs as machinist, tool & dye makers, butchers, computer science majors, etc, high skilled jobs many of which were union, pensioned and promised continued health care until we died. Then they started yanking the rug out from under us.

I've been on message boards where they turn around and blame the working class for "poor planning" and "poor vocation" choices. Should have gone for a Business degree and become management, etc, etc. I honestly think this is one reason so many companies are now running very top heavy, lots of upper and middle management. Guess what folks, middle management will be next on the block.

You plan as best you can making assumptions that things that have been around through your parents lifetime will make it through yours in some similar fashion through yours as well. Sure there will be some changes, but who would have thought they would be so drastic and all at once.

So, what happens when the market bottoms out or more scandals hit for those 401Ks and this latest privatized SS, will they again say poor choices?

I see I have begun rambling and ranting again....sorry.

[Triana]

20. hard to save...

...if you're unemployed/underemployed thanks to Bu$hit no-job market...no matter what your age.

[Skittles]

30. bless your heart, ninkasi

we need to get stories like yours OUT THERE.

[kodi]

3. seniors vote, the GOP made a very big mistake this week

i hope it costs them the election.

[0007]

12. After this fiasco and more calamities to follow for us..

..this all goes to show me that nothing is gonna stop this cabal. The GOP has had this plan to destroy Medicare and Social Security for many years and now it appears that they are right on tract.

By far this Medicare Bill is bad medicine for us old folks.

The truth is simple and easy to understand. This medicare bill is not simple and very difficult for anyone to understand.

[radfringe]

4. don't recall the exact quote....

but during one of the Baghdad-Bush - Gore debates - didn't Baghdad Bush say he wasn't afraid of touching the third rail (i.e. Social Security/Medicare) ?

[Malva Zebrina]

5. Seniors vote

no matter how much Bush and the Republicans will try to put us out on the ice--we vote--we talk to each other in churches, in libraries, in the supermarket parking lots because we have time to talk to each other and we can talk about politics because we are not in danger of losing our job or anything like that from a boss who is a Republican. We are great letter writers also.

Yes, we vote--and given the backlash and the betrayal of AARP, as well as the revelation that it is joined at the hip with the warmonger plutocrat, Bush, I would say--bye bye Bush-go cry in your beer at Kennebunkport with your mentor, #1, another failed president-we vote and we vote in large numbers.

[ibegurpard]

7. Thank God for seniors.

They seem to be the only constituency that is actually paying attention to the Bushpublican attempts to screw them over.

[argonne]

They vote .....

for Republicans!

And deserve what they get.

[54anickel]

18. That statement is unfair to seniors. They do NOT normally vote

a straight ticket. Most of the seniors that I know pay very close attention to the candidates and issues and will vote intelligently. They have been "around the block" and I feel they take voting very seriously. Party line is second to their voting decision.

[roguevalley]

33. BS. That's like saying all young people are stupid.

Seniors have brains, votes and they utilize them.
This is bad news for bush. I joined the Alliance.
Three AARP cancellations in this house.

[BGAL1965]

8. This bill threatens the lives

of 7 million low income and disabled american citizens. Every representiative that voted for this bill voted to kill these people . They are no better than the nazis that developed the final solution for the jews. These people are CRIMINALS. They must be called to account for their actions and their depraved indifference to the plight of these people. People like myself.People like the first responder. There is no compassion in these people and they deserve none in return. WE MUST FLOOD THE SENATE WITH DEMANDS FOR THE DEFEAT OF THIS BILL!!!!!!

[pearl]

10. This is social engineering pure and simple

I'm disabled on medicare, it's basically a death sentence for a whole
lot of people.

[0007]

19. btt

[catmandu57]

13. The house piggies stole it in the early morning

hours on a weekend when most of America was asleep. The house piggies stole the the lives of the disabled and elderly by a vote of 220-215, pretty close but, stolen none the less.
If this dog gets past the senate and on to the dictator*, then people just as well drink the koolaid and get it over with.

[The Icon Painter]

14. Letter to AARP

This is the response I made to "Brian" who sent me a form letter in response to my cancelling my membership in that treasonous organization: (BTW - I long ago joined MoveOn and contribute regularly to them as does my husband.)

You know, Brian, this is really not acceptable. A form letter to members
who feel betrayed by your action and your sudden allegiance to the Bush
effort to destroy all the social safety nets. I am afraid that you have
thoroughly blotted your copy-book and have become what you vowed to fight.
Shame on you. I am grateful that my membership is terminated. It would
embarrass me to belong to so craven and greedy an organization and it should
make you ashamed as well.

[SoCalDem]

15. Here's the problem..

The really "icky" part will not go into effect until 2006.. Once the drug companies have to "serve" medicare recipients after their "fix" of billions of OUR DOLLARS is gone, the shit will hit the fan.. During the "test phase" the union retirement plans and pension plans will be watching this like a hawk.. You can bet your last dollar tat the "test areas" will (have been) carefully chosen, so that it will "appear" to be wonderful..

The pensioners will start getting letters to notify them that they will no longer "need" to be covered by the company plan that they worked so many years to earn.. Their coverage will end, and they will be forced into the "medicare model".. Once they are out..they are OUT, and the companies can pocket the money they would have spent on health care..

This is a classic bait and switch.. Once everyone is stuck into this plan , there will be no going back, and they can charge or limit as they please.. You can also bet that the drugs will be generic or a huge co-pay for the "new meds"..

Remember "Secure Horizons"?? Beautiful ads.. $5 co-pays, choice of doctorss.. Once they used up their subsidy, they dropped the seniors like a hot potato..

This is a give-away to the rich pals who send * & friends money by the truckload..

It pisses me off to no end, that as boomers, we MET our obligation to the seniors ahead of us, and paid enough extra to ensure that WE would have plenty too, and all those bastards did is steal our money..and now they can't seem to figure out how WE will get benefits..

This reeks....

[colorado_ufo]

16. Love the "Skylines of my Life"

That is very, very cool.

[SoCalDem]

21. Thanks.. I have had more, but those are the best

Moreno Valley CA is not noted for its skyline.:)

[Fovea]

23. a few more of KC from the river

http://65.64.114.185/SelectedRHTPics1.htm

[Cleita]

22. Handing the American taxpayer's money to the for profit health

care companies is what this bill is about. The watchdogs are probably part of the cabal. I have no confidence in them anymore. It will be grass root's movements that will defy these people and get our country back. When the pendulum swings, it will also be grass roots that's convicts them of the crimes they are committing.

[SharonAnn]

26. Frist's family runs the largest HMO in the country. They were fined

more than one billion dollars in 2001 for Medicare fraud.

They will get lots of money for "providing" HMO services under this bill.

Frist's brother is president of the HMO and is father was chairman of the board until last year. They rake in hundreds of millions a year in salary, expenses, benefits, stock, etc.

[ramapo]

28. Government by the people, for the people...a bad joke

So the Senate majority leader has the closest family ties possible to a hugh HMO. The Bushes and the oil companies. Cheney and Halliburton+.

Go through the list of Senators and Congressmen. It just makes you sick.

[reprobate]

24. Well, we all know what their goal is.

Their intention is to destroy medicare. They are doing it by forcing the people into private sector health plans. That translates into "insurance companies".

Does anyone want to wager that in five years there will be NO coverage for seniors? We will see senior coverage degenerate into the same screwed up system that the rest of us live with, which will destroy it.

But there is a solution. Cancel the $87 billion for iraq and us it for a comprehensive, national single payer system so that every american can have health coverage, like the rest of the world.

[bvar22]

27. Would YOU give YOUR Healthcare & SocialSec funds to ENRON???

bush* and the republicans will!!

Vote Democratic

[Skittles]

29. the GOP must think seniors are total f***ing idiots

they most certainly are NOT; I'd venture to say they are among the most savviest of voters. This bill is a big mistake.

[cthrumatrix]

31. $87Billion for Iraq ....but they screw the senior citizens at home

this elitist agenda is all about greed, power and control using terror as a weapon and cheating at the ballot box to shove through their plans.

We should DEMAND paper ballots if there is an election next year...my gut says that "the invisible terror thugs" will act and put us into martial law...which means no vote.

Now ask yourself...who would beneift from a "no vote" ...? Now think about who are these terrorists? Always ask "who benefits"?

[Malva Zebrina]

32. this has been a very sad an depressing day

for me as far as the Medicare initiative. Sad. I cannot even be angry yet--just sad. I do not know what to do so I will do nothing for right now.

I know one thing--I will avoid getting into any medications whatsoever--too bad--I would rather spend my meager money and savings traveling about this country in my ten year old seventeen foot coach house van, and enjoying the experience of meeting those who are born and bred in different states, than spending it on medications that I am tied to and that will cost me hundreds of dollars. I would prefer to die first in that van while travelling around, before becoming locked in to that doctor visits and blah blah blah and I am a diabetic. I live only on SS--we, my husband and I, both do--we meet our bills and live on about 12 thousand a year and have little left for frivolous things and that really does not matter much to me at all. We have enough food and a roof over our head and heat in the winter--and that is something that a lot of unfortunate people do not have, and I wish I could help them in some way.

[young_at_heart]

35. Seniors who voted for Bush....WAKE UP!

That guy with the folksy smile is screwing you big-time. Please tell those who voted Republican what the future holds for them. They will be forced into HMO's (very big Republican contributors)....and that is not a pretty picture!