| Offices : Beckley • Charleston • Fairmont • Martinsburg • Washington, DC | E-mail Senator Rockefeller |
September 28, 2009
A Stable Health Care System for West Virginia Seniors
By: Senator Jay Rockefeller
Meeting with seniors across West Virginia to talk about the issues most important to them has been a priority and a cherished duty throughout my career – one that I look forward to at every opportunity I have. That’s why I was so happy to meet with a group of seniors in Morgantown recently to hear about their health care.
As the debate surrounding health care reform heats up in Washington, I wanted to talk with them about what all of this means – and, frankly, what it doesn’t mean.
Unfortunately, there is a significant amount of misinformation out there that is flat-out wrong.
One senior I spoke with recently had heard on television that health care reform will essentially be a forced takeover of health care. And she had heard on the radio that Medicare could be hurt or that the government might start euthanizing seniors.
All of these things are completely false. But, how do seniors know what’s true, and what isn’t?
A good rule of thumb is, if it sounds too ridiculous to be true – it probably is. If it sounds like someone is trying to scare you, they probably are.
We are still working to craft a health care reform bill in the Senate, but even now the key fundamental facts are clear.
Health care reform will not jeopardize Medicare or take away seniors’ choices – seniors will always be able to get the care they need, when they need it.
Health care reform will not require people to buy into a public health insurance option – if you like the coverage you have, you will absolutely be able to keep it.
Health reform will not require doctors to give seniors “suicide counseling” or create so-called “death panels.” These reports are completely false. Rather, health reform will give seniors, and all adults, the tools and information they need to voluntarily make their own decisions about end-of-life care in advance, in consultation with a trusted physician – and only if they ask for it.
And, health care reform will not replace Medicare or Medicaid. Forty-four years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson transformed our health care system when he signed these programs into law – promising that every citizen would be protected “against the ravages of illness in his old age” – and this will always be upheld.
I want seniors to be assured that my efforts to impact health care reform are entirely focused on protecting and improving health care coverage, not threatening it. And that’s why I’m fighting right now in the Senate Finance Committee to make the health care bill stronger for seniors.
First, I’ve offered an amendment that would provide stable and affordable prescription drug coverage to all Medicare enrollees – because no senior should be forced to choose between buying necessary medication and putting food on their table.
Second, I believe seniors need access to specific care – like dental, vision and hearing care – which is why I proposed an amendment to add coverage of those services to the list of mandatory benefits for Medicare recipients.
And I’m also pushing for a plan that would ensure the long-term stability of Medicare by distancing decisions about payments from the lobbyists and special interests – and instead placing them with an independent, transparent agency of experts whose mission it is to serve and protect seniors and put Medicare on more stable financial footing for the future.
As our work on these critical issues moves forward in the Senate, I want to continue hearing from seniors about their questions, concerns and hopes for health care reform. All seniors must have a voice in the debate and a champion for them in their corner. I will always fight to make sure we have a health care system that lives up to what all seniors deserve.
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