[Apologetics] Fw: Freedom Alert: The Truth About Partisan Medicare Attacks

[Dianne Dawson]

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July 08, 2008
Dear Friend,

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.

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. 

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. 
 
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.
 
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. 

Now if you’re saying to yourself that this is just another Washington game, you’re absolutely right. But it didn’t stop there.

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.”

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.

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. 

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.

Yours truly,

Jim DeMint     
Charleston
112 Custom House
200 East Bay St.
Charleston, SC 29401
Phone: 843-727-4525
Fax: 843-722-4923 Columbia
1901 Main St.
Suite 1475
Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: 803-771-6112
Fax: 803-771-6455 Greenville
105 North Spring St.
Suite 109
Greenville, SC 29601
Phone: 864-233-5366
Fax: 864-271-8901 Washington, D.C.
340 Russell
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-6121
Fax: 202-228-5143 
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