levittownnick
Senior Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2003
- Messages
- 789
The Former General Manager of General Instrument, my previous employer, and a friend wrote this:<br /><br />Hi GI friends,<br /><br /> Hi friends, <br /> Today was a sad day for our country and our senior citizens and our lower income people. <br />The senate today voted fifty-fifty to cut planned spending for Medicare, Medicaid, and other planned expends for low income people. (EVEN SOME OF THE REPUBLICANS DID NOT HAVE THE HEART TO VOTE FOR IT. <br /> Now with a fifty-fifty tie in our democracy, the vice president casts the deciding vote. It would not take genius to figure out how Cheney would vote.<br /> Last month our government who is sponsored by the rich, voted to extend the tax breaks to the wealthy and now after cutting the government's income because of this tax break to the rich, turns around and says we must reduce the deficit so we have to cut Medicaid, Medicare, etc.<br /> How can our government be so heartless? It is easy for multimillionaires like Cheney to vote in the affirmative to cut benefits to the poor, the elderly and the disadvantaged. The answer is that it does not effect them personally at all. What helps them is the extension of the tax breaks to the people earning over $100,000 a year!<br /> Can I be specific? Let me tell you one way. Elderly people tend to get cataracts in the eyes. <br /> {With age your eyes become clouded over and in order not to become blind (which in the old days <br />almost thirty percent of the elderly would be so affected).}<br /> But how there are wonderful new ways to stop this disease (what could be as scary as the thought of becoming blind)<br />Medicare used to pay for this new very important procedure. Now I understand, as of January 1. 2006, this operation will cost Medicare patients $900. for each eye. Then on the first of Feb, <br />Medicare will not pay for any of the $2300. this operation costs. I think that slowly Medicare will pay for less and less of the newest medical procedures. <br /> and another way that Medicare and Medicaid patients are getting worse and worse medical care? the best and most experienced senior doctors are opting out of Medicare in a big way. The doctors do not want to be strapped to the Medicare list of ever reducing Medicare allowances. Many doctors drop out of Medicare and tell their Medicare patients "go see young doctor JOHN JONES, he is taking Medicare patients. I know this for a fact. In the past few years three of our doctors have elected to drop out of Medicare. And, of course you can imagine they were our best doctors. But they tell us they do not want to be limited to the Medicare paper work. Of course that is not the reason, It is the schedule of payments. Which limits their income, that changes their minds about staying with Medicare? <br />WHILE THIS IS GOING ON. MY MEDICARE MONTHLY CONTRIBUTIONS WENT UP 15 PERCENT THIS YEAR.<br /> So more and more the economically disadvantaged and the elderly are being hit at every turn.<br /> I do not use the word poor because you may not be poor in the big cities of our country to be struggling to despair.<br /> So, today all of you who voted for the present government should remember that you too will reach 65 someday and what will be left for you then?<br /><br /> Gene
.....JK
