Medicare

By Mike Doyle

Republicans in Congress have proposed phasing out the original Medicare program as we know it today and replacing it for future generations with a voucher program in which seniors would be given a voucher and left to shop for health insurance from private insurance companies. To add insult to injury, the value of these vouchers is expected to drop in the face of increasing health care costs + eventually shifting most of the cost of older Americans' health care from the government to individuals. I find this abandonment of future generations completely outrageous and irresponsible. I will do every possible thing I can to oppose any such a proposal.

In marked contrast, I recently supported legislation too eliminate the Medicare Part D "donut hole," create new benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, eliminate patient co-pays for others, and significantly strengthen the Medicare Trust Fund (by eliminating outrageous wasteful giveaways to private insurance companies that the Republican-controlled Congress enacted in 2003).

I promise both senior citizens and younger Americans that I will work to preserve Medicare in its original form for current and future generations + and that I will work hard to ensure that all Americans, regardless of age, are guaranteed affordable high quality health care.

I strongly believe that senior citizens (and for that matter, all Americans) should have the right to choose their own doctors. I have consistently supported legislation to guarantee seniors the right to choose their own doctors. But that right will mean a lot less if the doctors seniors wish to see drop out of the Medicare program because the amount Medicare pays them doesn't fairly compensate them for their service. Consequently, I have consistently supported Congressional efforts to enact a permanent "doc fix" + legislation to fix the formula used to determine how much doctors will be paid for the health care they provide to Medicare beneficiaries + and I will continue to do so. I have also supported legislation to increase the number of doctors and other health care providers serving seniors and medically underserved communities like inner-city neighborhoods.

Waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare and other government health care programs raise health care costs for seniors and damage the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund. Consequently, as a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I have been actively involved in Congressional efforts to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. For example, Congress recently enacted legislation I helped draft that contained over 30 new measures to help federal investigators find and crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid. I am wholeheartedly committed to continuing to develop effective ways to combat waste fraud and abuse in these important health care programs.