BY JOHN GRIMALDI | MARCH 12, 2014
The elderly are under siege because of Obamacare
Senator Harry Reid was politically motivated when he called opponents of the health care law liars
WASHINGTON, DC – The focus in the nation's Capital this week was on the elderly who are under siege as a result of Obamacare when the House Republican Conference met to consider alternative solutions to the health care law.
A parade of seniors was on hand to voice objections to the president's signature Health Care law. "They told of discontinued insurance policies, onerous premium increases, the shrinking pool of health care providers, soaring co-pays and out-of-pocket costs and the loss of home health care services," according to senior citizen advocate Dan Weber.
"Senator Harry Reid calls them 'liars,' claiming their opposition to Obamacare was politically motivated," said Weber, who is president of the Association of Mature American Citizens. "These are real people with real horror stories about how their lives have been impacted by the law. It is Reid who was politically motivated in making his outrageous characterization of the very people the law is supposed to help."
The Washington Times published an opinion article written by Weber recently in which he brought attention to one of the most "reprehensible" provisions of the Affordable Care Act-the $22 billion reduction in home health care services. The cut will be phased in over four years starting this year, but it has "perilous" implications for health care delivery and for the economy, Weber explained.
It does "irreparable damage to recipients of Medicare's home health care services, those who are aged, homebound and sicker than the average Medicare population. Indeed, nearly two-thirds of Medicare home health care users live at or below the federal poverty level, meaning they are the most economically compromised of America's precious senior citizens," Weber wrote.
The article pointed out that the decrease in funding for this much-needed benefit has far reaching effects. "It will hit the small businesses that provide home health care nationwide, and is already doing so. More than 90 percent of those providing home health care are small businesses. According to the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 40 percent of these companies will be operating 'at a loss' – that is, they will likely fold or end up in bankruptcy – by 2017 as a result of the cut."
Weber said that he is angered by the "ill-founded excuses" made by what he called "liberal elitist surrogates" like Senator Reid for the dismal failure of Obamacare.
"Attacking our weakest senior citizens is no way to run a country. It is, in a word, reprehensible. This abomination devastates another existing and essential Medicare promise, while throwing one more gut-wrenching punch at this job sector. Does the truth no longer matter? Do these lives no longer matter? Do these businesses and jobs no longer matter? When will Mr. Obama and his allies in Congress let up and allow Americans to look after themselves again, as we used to quite well?"
For Weber's full article visit www.amac.us.
