The term “healthcare industry” does not sit well with me. An industry, by definition, involves manufacturing or technically productive enterprises in a particular field, often named after its principal product: the automobile industry; the steel industry. Using this widely accepted definition of industry, why would our nation wish to place such a cold, heartless tag on one of the services that should be the warmest and most personal anyone should ever receive?
The Romney/Ryan plan for Medicare and Medicaid would be so detrimental to low-income seniors that it is not beyond the realm of possibility that many once-proud citizens will die needlessly in squalor without receiving the medical attention they so desperately need from the healthcare “industry.”
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have made their decree to repeal Obamacare loud and clear, but there are so many people out there who have no idea the devastating ramifications that retraction would have on a vast majority of American seniors who count on Medicare and Medicaid for their very survival.
According to a recent analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, repealing the Affordable Care Act would mean higher Medicare premiums. The impact could be greatest for the lowest-income seniors that qualify for both the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and there could be a significant slowdown in federal funds available for their care. The healthcare law cuts $716 billion in Medicare spending–largely by reducing how much insurers and healthcare providers get paid to manage seniors’ care. Since Medicare beneficiaries pay a percentage of the program’s overall budget, lower spending means lower premiums. Wellness visits and prescription drugs also would cost more.
“If the Medicare savings are repealed, and the benefit enhancements are repealed, there’s a direct effect on seniors today,” said Tricia Neuman, director of the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Medicare Policy Project.
These effects are not the only benefits that Obamacare provides for seniors. Earlier this year, Health and Human Services estimated that Medicare beneficiaries now save $94 in out-of-pocket medical costs, thanks to Obamacare. And by 2021 they will be saving $572 in comparison to what they were paying before Obamacare was enacted.
Knowing all these facts of the benefits of Obamacare for the elderly is something that I have had to learn myself, because if I listen to a great portion of mainstream media outlets and an overwhelming amount of political attack advertisements, I would be led to believe Obamacare is to be vilified and feared, not praised for the lifesaving tool that it actually is.
Obamacare takes the “industry” out of the healthcare industry and replaces it with the service, warmth and respect that every American — young or old, healthy or ill — deserves. Whether you’re just beginning this wonderful journey or you are in the twilight of your life, you should be able to celebrate the life you have; not worry about whether you have enough money in Medicare or Medicaid to live and receive proper medical care.
