Older Americans Month #1 - Strengthen Medicare by covering the uninsured
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May 6, 2009 Posted by Adam Swope
Congress has an opportunity to enact health care reform legislation that can improve the quality of life for all Americans. As a retiree, I want you to know that retirees, too, have a large stake in national health care reform efforts.
One vital part of health care reform is the need for a national public health care plan that brings in the 47 million Americans with no insurance. Such a plan would make coverage more affordable with lower administrative costs and drive quality improvements and more rational reimbursement than private plans have demonstrated they can or will do. Covering all Americans will reduce the costs of our health care system by increasing access to family doctors who can treat disease cheaper in its earlier stages, increasing access to preventative services and releaving the strain on hospitals who care for the uninsured at the emergency room and are often not compensated.
Controlling overall health care costs by covering the uninsured and reducing administrative overhead is vital to the long term sustainability of Medicare.
You have the opportunity to reform health care so that it works for Americans of all ages. I encourage you to:· Contact your legislators through phone, letter, email or visit to let them know that retirees have a stake in health care reform.
· Write a letter to the editor highlighting some of the issues that should be addressed related to seniors’ stake in health care reform.
· Talk to your friends and neighbors about the need for all seniors to be engaged in the health care conversation.
Contact our staff person Adam Swope at aswope@retiredamericans.org or 717-231-2866 if you need contact information for your members of Congress, talking points for a letter, or help submitting a letter to the editor and he will get you what you need. If you decide to contact a legislator or write a letter on your own, please let Adam know so you can get credit for your great work! We look forward to working with you on these critical issues.
In Solidarity,
Jean Friday
President, Pennsylvania Alliance Retired Americans