Courtesy of the Winchester Sun:

http://www.centralkynews.com/winchestersun/news/ws-chandler-medicare-program-threatened-20110519,0,1127759.story

Chandler: Medicare program threatened

Ruth Shearer talked with Ben Chandler at the Generations Center Wednesday. The congressman was there to talk about Medicare and its future with the seniors gathered at the center. (Bob Flynn/bflynn@winchestersun.com / May 19, 2011)

Kentucky Congressman Ben Chandler met with a group of seniors at the Generations Center Wednesday to talk about Medicare and potential threats to the social insurance program.

Chandler called programs like Social Security and Medicare “absolutely critical” and “the backbone of our society,” and warned the group that there were some of his fellow legislators who were trying to change Medicare.

“These programs are the things that keep our seniors going, and I hate to think where we would be without them,” Chandler said. “But right now, we face an enormous risk with Medicare because there is a plan called the Ryan budget that essentially seeks to privatize Medicare. This is a serious threat to Medicare, a very, very serious threat.”

 

 

 

 

The Ryan plan, according to Chandler, would mean seniors would be given vouchers which they would then take to private insurance companies to get medical coverage for everything from regular doctor’s visits and checkups to specialty procedures.

The plan, Chandler said, would mean less of seniors’ health care would be paid for, thus creating more out-of-pocket expenses for those involved, something he didn’t think was right.

Chandler said the older people in his life, who raised him, now depend on Medicare. He said he felt he owed it to them and people like the group at the Generations Center to fight for Medicare.

“I know a little something about this because we deal with private insurance companies all the time, and I can’t imagine having a system where seniors every day have to go wrestle with private insurance companies about their care,” Chandler said. “To me, Medicare is the bedrock of us keeping a decent social structure in this country . I just believe that it is that important to our society, and I am going to fight for it with everything I’ve got. You can just count on that.”

Chandler said the nation’s budget deficit had to be addressed in many ways, and there were some costs within the Medicare system that needed to be trimmed, but the Ryan budget isn’t the way to do it, and he would do everything in his power to stop it.

“Medicare is just vital , absolutely vital to our seniors, and I don’t think we as a country can afford to lose it,” Chandler said. “I don’t know if I will be on the winning side of this fight, but I can assure you that I will do everything I can to protect Medicare.’

Contact Bob Flynn at bflynn@winchestersun.com.