Keep ‘yore’ hands off my Medicare

This sign was being held by a woman at a Tea Party rally of sorts. Her actual sign read “Government keep yore hands of my Medicare. Don’t steal from Medicare to support SOCIALIZED MEDICINE.”

Not only can she not spell, it hasn’t penetrated her brain that Medicare is socialized medicine. I’ve seen this sign before at Tea Party gatherings. It makes no sense whatsoever. They’ve been brainwashed that the Affordable Care Act will take money from Medicare without a return.

The impact the ACA has had on Medicare is positive. On July 30, 2014, the Medicare Trustees announced that the life of the program’s trust fund had been extended another four years to 2030 because of savings achieved through the Affordable Care Act.

This probably wasn’t broadcast by Fox. The administration has announced that over eight million seniors and disabled people have saved a total of $11.5 billion on medications. That’s an average of $1,400 per beneficiary, because the ACA closes the “doughnut hole” created by the Republicans.

What’s the “doughnut hole” you ask? It’s a prime example of just why Republicans should not be writing healthcare laws. In 2003 they wrote a law to cover prescription drugs through Medicare. It was sorely needed legislation, but the Republicans screwed it up. Their law provided that Medicare would pay for 75 percent of a beneficiary’s prescription drug costs for the first $2,250, with a $250 deductible. After that it stopped paying anything for the next $2,850. That’s the “doughnut hole.” Medicare started paying again when a beneficiary’s out of pocket costs reached $5,100. It was a terrible hardship on seniors. Over time the ACA closes this “hole” altogether. The ACA is a tremendous help to Medicare recipients.

When the Republicans talk about repealing the ACA and replacing it with their own law it’s frightening. I wonder how many “doughnut holes” their healthcare law would have? The Republicans are on the horns of a dilemma. The more people learn about the ACA, aka “Obamacare” the more they like it. The Republican repeal and replace plan will never happen unless they replace “Obamacare” with “Obamacare.” That’s also the opinion of the Washington Post’s Paul Waldman’s in an article he wrote on July 30, 2014.

He writes, “I had to sit with a group of 100 percent Republican people waiting at a pharmacy yesterday in central Alabama. Every single one had something good to say about their new insurance choices and benefits. I was very surprised. One guy, looked in his 30’s, said he got his on the exchange and it allowed him to quit his job that had insurance to go to work for a general contractor that paid better without health insurance. He really liked the new job.”

I read positive stories like this about the ACA all the time.

Republicans continue to refuse to tell us what they would replace the ACA with. They won’t say because they know that whatever they may propose would fall short of what the American people want. They want “Obamacare.” Republicans expect us to let them repeal the ACA without telling us what the heck we would be getting in its place.. No sane person can accept that. We aren’t that stupid; at least not those of us who know “your” hands is not spelled “yore” hands, and “off” is not spelled “of.”

Many of you are aware of most of the provisions of the ACA. Most are highly favored by the public, such as; tax credits to small businesses to buy insurance ... the Republicans dare not do away with that. Closure of the “doughnut hole.” The creation of health insurance exchanges that allow people to shop for the lowest cost insurance. Subsidy assistance to individuals and the expansion of Medicare.

One of the most popular elements is the extension of dependent coverage for children on their parent’s health insurance policy until they reach age 26. Cancer survivors or those who have had serious illnesses can no longer lose their insurance. Insurance companies will be required to cover them regardless of pre-existing conditions. And insurance companies are forbidden from rescinding your policy if you get sick or have an accident.

Who in the world would repeal these benefits? Republicans, that’s who. How many of them will the Republicans repeal? Every last one of them!! In fact, led by Tea Party caucus member Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., they have voted over 50 times to do just that. They claim, when pressed, that their nonexistent replacement plan will cover all of these things. Do you think they’ll call it Obamacare II?

Glen McAdoo, a Fallon resident, can be contacted at glynn@phonewave.net.