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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><strong><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 0, 51);">July 08, 2008</span></strong><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 0, 51);"></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Dear
Friend,<br>
<br>
There is something pretty outrageous going on in Washington this
week that I think you should know about. It concerns the future of
our health care system, many of our family doctors and some powerful
special interest groups in Washington.<br>
<br>
Two weeks ago, the Senate sought to pass a bill that would prevent
an automatic 10 percent cut in the reimbursement fees that doctors
receive for treating Medicare patients. These cuts are routinely
avoided by passing temporary fixes with wide, bipartisan support.
But this time Democrats saw a political opportunity they couldn’t
resist. <br>
<br>
Rather than passing a simple fix, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
(D-Nevada) brought up a partisan bill that also cut funds for the
Medicare Advantage program, which is the only part of Medicare that
helps seniors access private health coverage. <br>
<br>
Senator Reid’s bill would end Medicare Advantage plans for 2.3
million seniors nationwide, over 65,000 in South Carolina. Medicare
Advantage is rapidly gaining popularity among seniors as over 9
million have voluntarily signed up for plans that provide lower
premiums, lower co-pays and more preventative care than traditional
Medicare.<br>
<br>
Knowing that Republicans would oppose a blatant move toward
socialized medicine, Reid forced a vote on his partisan bill so he
could manufacture a scenario to blame us for allowing the doctor
cuts to take effect. <br>
<br>
Now if you’re saying to yourself that this is just another
Washington game, you’re absolutely right. But it didn’t stop there.<br>
<br>
Last week, special interests groups aligned with Reid began sending
out false statements to doctors, seniors and the media about my
position. A spokesperson for the AARP went so far as to say that I
was responsible for denying care to “our nation’s seniors, disabled
individuals, and military families.”<br>
<br>
I wanted to tell you about this for a couple reasons. First, if
you’ve heard these false reports saying that I’m opposed to the
Medicare fix and that I’m somehow in the back pocket of insurance
companies, you will now know the truth. I’ve consistently supported
fixing Medicare reimbursement rates and I’ve fought numerous
battles with health insurance companies that oppose interstate
competition.<br>
<br>
But I also wanted to share with you this clear example of how
politicians use government power to buy the support of special
interest groups to pass bad policies and gain political advantage.
In this case, Senator Reid used the threat of Medicare cuts to get
the AMA and the AARP to attack senators who support fixing Medicare
but oppose efforts to socialize medicine. <br>
<br>
Perhaps this is just politics. Perhaps this is just the way the
game is played. But I think it’s extremely destructive and
unacceptable. We must continue to fight efforts to expand
government and take away our freedoms, even when it means enduring
false attacks. I hope you agree.<br>
<br>
Yours truly,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><img id="_x0000_i1026" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3263/2511638428_64a0c70351_o.gif" border="0"><br>
Jim DeMint</span></p>
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