Medicare Rationing – July 2007

Government-imposed denial of life-saving medical treatment is a form of involuntary euthanasia. Because Medicare is mandatory health insurance for older Americans, the government must not limit the ability of senior citizens to use their own money, if they wish, to get unrationed insurance for life-saving medical treatment under Medicare.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AND ACTION ALERT

In the context of reauthorizing and expanding the children’s health insurance program known by the acronym SCHIP, the House of Representative initially passed a bill, known as the CHAMP Act, that contained provisions that effectively end the private fee-for-service alternative in Medicare that now gives older Americans the legal right to add their own money, if they choose, on top of the government contribution in order to obtain health insurance less likely to ration life-saving treatment (see below.)  Ultimately, the House leadership instead agreed to go forward with a slightly modified Senate version of the SCHIP re-authorization that did not include these or any other provisions related to Medicare, and NRLC took a neutral position on subsequent SCHIP votes.  However, in turn, the Senate leadership agreed that the Senate would develop and consider a separate Medicare bill that would avert scheduled cuts in physician reimbursement under government fee-for-service Medicare and possibly make other changes like those in the CHAMP Act.  Such legislation is currently under development in the Senate Finance Committee.

It is critically important that the committee and full Senate avoid those provisions of the House-passed CHAMP Act that would have the effect of preventing older Americans from using their own money to save their own lives. 

ACTION NEEDED:

Please contact your U.S. Representative and both your U.S. Senators
with this basic message: Support only Medicare legislation that drops the
attacks on the Medicare private-fee-for-service option in the House-passed
CHAMP Act.

In order to protect senior citizens’ lives, we must ensure their right to
get unrationed medical care under Medicare. We must not prohibit older
Americans from adding their own money, if they wish, to get unrationed
insurance – which only the private fee-for-service alternative gives them.

Note: The specific provisions are identified and explained in the NRLC
Analysis of the House CHAMP Act.

–Because of post-9-11 security screening requirements, postal mail, to be
effective, is best sent to the LOCAL instead of the Washington office,
which you may locate in your local phone book or by going to http://[insert
senator’s last name].senate.gov and http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml

–You can send an e-mail by going to www.nrlc.org, clicking on Legislative
Action Center, clicking on the Medicare link in the left column, and
following the links to take action; and/or

–You can call your Representative’s and Senators’  state offices (see local
phone book) or go through the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (Senate) or
202-225-3121 (House).

NRLC Analysis of House CHAMP Act

NRLC Letter to Members of U.S. House of Representatives on
CHAMP Act -- July 31, 2007

NRLC Letter to U.S. Senators on SCHIP -- July 30, 2007
 

Basic Background:

•  Since its inception, the National Right to Life Committee has been committed to protecting the right to life from conception until natural death, which means that we have fought just as strongly against infanticide and euthanasia as against abortion. In particular, we have strongly opposed involuntary denial of life-saving medical treatment through rationing.

•  Medicare, the mandatory government program that since the1960's has provided health insurance for older Americans, is in deep trouble.  It is paid for largely by payroll and income taxes, through which workers essentially pay for health care costs of retirees.  When the baby boom generation retires, the proportion of retirees to workers will rise dramatically, so that there will be less tax money available for each retiree, imperiling the ability of Medicare to continue to provide unrationed health care to senior citizens. The economic reality is that in order to provide Medicare coverage for the baby boom generation as it retires, without unrealistic massive future tax increases, government payments per beneficiary will not be able to keep up with medical inflation. If the funds available for health care for senior citizens from all sources are so limited, the only possible result will be rationing. Since senior citizens are required to participate in Medicare, this would amount to government-imposed involuntary euthanasia.

•  Under the Medicare as it now exists, there is an escape valve–an alternative to rationing that does not either break the budget or require new taxes. That alternative – the private fee-for-service option – permits those eligible for Medicare voluntarily to supplement government payments for health insurance premiums with their own funds, if they wish, in order to obtain unrationed insurance. Most critically, it provides that government officials cannot impose rationing-causing price controls.

•  The private fee-for-service alternative is now under assault in Congress.  It is critically important to turn back this assault to protect senior citizens from the treat of government-imposed health care rationing, which is a form of involuntary euthanasia.  OLDER AMERICANS MUST REMAIN FREE TO SPEND THEIR OWN MONEY TO SAVE THEIR OWN LIVES !