Posted by James Parks to AFL-CIO NOW
Across the country today, working people are celebrating the 43rd birthday of Medicare and sending a message to political leaders that keeping and improving medical care for millions of seniors and retirees will be a key issue in the upcoming elections.
Members of the Alliance for Retired Americans in at least five states will deliver birthday cakes to members of Congress, hold rallies and press conferences to thank supporters of Medicare and to urge other lawmakers to back senior issues.
President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law on July 30, 1965, to provide access to quality, affordable health care for older Americans. Since then, Medicare has been a cornerstone of the health and security of America’s seniors. Today, more than 44 million Americans depend on the program for health care benefits.
But Medicare has been under relentless attack by congressional Republicans and the Bush administration. Just two weeks ago, Congress overrode President Bush’s veto of a bill that would strengthen Medicare for seniors. Passage of the bill means the pending cuts in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients have been stopped. After the veto, Alliance President George Kourpias said:
President Bush’s veto…continues his legacy of sacrificing older Americans’ health care needs for the profits of large corporations.
If those cuts had gone into effect, as many as 60 percent of physicians would have been forced to stop treating new Medicare patients and to drop others from their rolls, according to the American Medical Association.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) made his first appearance on the Senate floor after undergoing surgery for brain cancer to vote to strengthen Medicare. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), in the middle of a presidential campaign, didn’t bother to show up for the vote. But Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) found time to vote on this critical bill for our nation’s seniors.
Earlier this year, McCain also received a failing score on the Alliance’s 2007 Congressional Voting Record, which details the voting record of every U.S. senator and representative on key issues affecting current and future retirees. The scorecard examines 10 key Senate votes in 2007, showing the roll calls on blocking Social Security privatization, lowering Medicare costs, expanding access to affordable health care, stopping oil price gouging and protecting voting rights. McCain received a score of 0.
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