Letter to the Editor - Cuts in Medicare

Letter

Published by the New York Times on August 27th, 2010

To the Editor:

Re "Come Again?" (editorial, Aug. 22), about cuts to Medicare spending:

President Obama's new health care law takes more than $500 billion from Medicare and spends it all to start a new entitlement program for the nonelderly. The most severe cuts affect Medicare Advantage -- a popular private insurance option for seniors -- to the tune of $205 billion.

Seniors aren't fooled. These cuts will have a direct impact on their health care. Costs will go up, and quality and availability will go down.

Today, a little over 11 million people have chosen Medicare Advantage plans -- almost one-quarter of the total Medicare population.

The president's own chief actuary, Richard Foster, estimated that these Medicare cuts will lower the projected enrollment in Medicare Advantage by 50 percent. Millions of seniors want what they currently have in Medicare Advantage.

The president said last year, "If you like your current plan, you will be able to keep it."

Come again?

John Barrasso
Casper, Wyo., Aug. 23, 2010

The writer, a doctor, is a United States senator from Wyoming.

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