What pre-boomers should look for in health care reform
With several bills coming out of both houses of congress, the health care discussion appears to be far from over even though the administration wants legislation signed this year. The politics of reform are intensifying each passing day. Therefore, without regard to party affiliation, I’ve tried to identify key points for pre-boomers to consider when it comes to health care reform.
The following 10 points are in no particular order. And, I purposely do not take into consideration what other age or demographic groups may want or need. As a pre-boomer, I believe the items listed below are, or should be, the deal breakers in any health care bill offered to my generation (those born between 1930 and 1945).
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Reducing Medicare and Medicaid funding by over $600 billion in order to provide insurance for those currently not covered is not going to fly with most new seniors, certainly not this one. Don’t you wonder how many people are truly uninsured because they can’t afford the premiums or have pre-existing conditions versus those who, for whatever reason, choose not to buy insurance or are here illegally?
The notion that more than a half a trillion dollars in saving can be achieved by reducing waste, fraud and abuse is highly questionable. And if it were true, why didn’t the government take steps to realize these savings before the current debate heated up? So someone needs to identify the problems and fix them now.
There have been many implied promises but no guarantees that seniors will not be placed on some kind of rationing or other changes which result in reducing the quality of our health care in the years ahead. So we must be skeptical until the details are revealed.
In the meantime, keep the pressure on our representatives in Washington. Ask how they intend to deal with the above 10 points, plus any others you can think of. If we are respectfully persistent with questions, maybe the politicians will get the idea that pre-boomers are serious about our health care coverage. However, should they not be responsive to our needs, then we don’t need them any more. And we’ll vote for someone who is willing to listen to the generation of new seniors.
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