With the announcement of Paul Ryan as the vice presidential choice for Romney, I viewed many thoughts, ideas and cartoons on Facebook and other sources. So I have been reading about the proposed Ryan Budget. I know as a senior citizen that using a voucher would not be sufficient for my medical needs nor those of my husband. What about my friends and family who do not have as good a retirement benefit as I do? My family has been considered working middle class for years but many members would soon be in the poverty level, if they are not already there.
I urge the people of Ohio and West Virginia to wake up. As I said in a previous letter, The Nuns on the Bus tour was to protest the Ryan Plan and all the cuts in programs for the poor and working families.
Here are five ways that the Health Care Law helps seniors:
- We will get a 50 percent discount on prescription drugs when we fall into the "doughnut hole" whereby more than 5 million have save an average of $600 last year. By 2020 the hole will be close for good.
- Medicare now covers annual wellness visits where the patient and physician can have a conference and make a plan to stay healthy rather than wait to visit the doctor when they get ill.
- We are able to get free preventive care like mammograms, colon cancer screenings and flu shots.
- Primary care doctors and surgeons that practice in areas of the country that have a shortage of doctors now get bonus payments to help make sure everyone gets the care they need.
- The law added 8 years to solvency of Medicare by cracking down on waste, fraud and needless subsidies to insurance companies.
If we look at the Ryan plan which is to turn Medicare into a voucher system, in 2022 a typical 65-year-old would actually pay about 40 percent more out of the pocket then under the current system. The choice is clear that we need to support and vote for President Obama.
Margaret Meeker
Williamstown
