Protecting Medicare
As Congress and President Obama continue to discuss the path forward on addressing our long-term debt and deficit, it is essential that the well-being of the Medicare program be a focus of that conversation. In order to protect Medicare, we need to address the unsustainable growth in spending for the program. I believe one of the biggest tools we have at our disposal to bring these costs down were provided by the health reform bill passed into law in 2010, the Affordable Care Act, which takes important steps to transform our health care delivery system into one that rewards high quality at low cost. That is why I joined 11 of my Senate colleagues in sending a letter to President Obama on September 16, 2011, urging him to prioritize these delivery system reforms in deficit reduction efforts, in order to preserve benefits for Colorado seniors.
Additionally, I have continued to fight against any proposal that seeks to privatize Medicare. I believe Colorado seniors, who have paid into the system their entire lives, deserve secured health care upon retirement, and the dangerous Ryan Budget proposal goes too far in undermining seniors’ right to affordable and accessible health care. Under the proposal, seniors would be forced to pay more out of pocket for their health care expenses and would be vulnerable to private insurance rate increases and care limitations. That is why I have joined a bipartisan group of Senators in voting against this proposal on several occasions, most recently on May 16, 2012.
If you have further questions about this or any other issue, please contact me with your concerns.
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