Don’t thank Guinta, thank Shea-Porter for Medicare support

Thursday, November 10, 2011

To the Editor:

I recently received a flier in the mail from “RetireSafe” instructing me to thank congressman Frank Guinta for allegedly protecting the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit – Part D for seniors.

What I find confusing – and this flyer appears meant to confuse seniors – is that congressman Guinta supports ending Medicare! After all, he voted for the extreme Paul Ryan Medicare plan. He voted to privatize Medicare – to turn Medicare from a guaranteed benefit to a system where private insurers would (maybe, partially) cover elderly Americans. The privatized system would provide seniors with a subsidy to purchase coverage, but the subsidy would not cover all medical costs or keep pace with rising medical costs. And would seniors even be insurable?

When I turned 60, I tried to buy individual health coverage but was excluded for life because of a pre-existing condition – I had had hip replacement. So, I don’t have faith that private insurers will want to insure elderly sick people.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Ryan plan would end up costing the typical senior around $6,000 more out-of-pocket by 2022. Remember Frank Guinta voted for this plan!

So why would anyone want to thank Frank Guinta for supporting the Medicare drug benefit when he wants to eliminate Medicare and increase its overall cost? My answer is – Frank Guinta doesn’t support Medicare, so no I will not thank him! I will be thanking Carol Shea-Porter – she does support Medicare and seniors. As she says, “Medicare works, leave it alone.”

Carol Moyer

Bedford