More Than 47 Million American Seniors Could See Access to Care Shrink Under Dems’ Government Healthcare Takeover
FYI, a similar version of this release below went out to the following districts: Shelley Adler (NJ-03), Pete Aguilar (CA-31), Jeff Anderson (MN-08), George Badey (PA-07), Ron Barber (AZ-08), John Barrow (GA-12), Ami Bera (CA-07), Tim Bishop (NY-01), Kathy Boockvar (PA-08), Leonard Boswell (IA-03), Bruce Braley (IA-01), Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Lois Capps (CA-24), Ben Chandler (KY-06), Andrei Cherny (AZ-09), David Cicilline (RI-01), Tarryl Clark (MN-08), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Jim Costa (CA-16), Mark Critz (PA-12), David Crooks (IN-08), Rick Daugherty (PA-15), John Delaney (MD-06), Val Demings (FL-10), Bill Foster (IL-11), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Pete Gallego (TX-23), John Garamendi (CA-03), David Gill (IL-13), Alan Grayson (FL-09), Raul Grijalva (AZ-07), Pam Gulleson (ND-AL), Clark Hall (AR-01), Brad Harriman (IL-12), Jose Hernandez (CA-10), Brian Higgins (NY-26), Jim Himes (CT-04), Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15), Paul Hirschbiel (VA-02), Rush Holt (NJ-12), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Q. Byrum Hurst (AR-04), Steve Israel (NY-03), Bill Keating (MA-09), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01), Larry Kissell (NC-08), Pat Kreitlow (WI-07), Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02), Rick Larsen (WA-02), David Loebsack (IA-02), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Nita Lowey (NY-17), Dan Maffei (NY-24), Larry Maggi (PA-18), Jim Matheson (UT-04), Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04), Jerry McNerney (CA-09), Michael Michaud (ME-02), Joe Miklosi (CO-06), Brendan Mullen (IN-02), Patrick Murphy (FL-18), Mark Murphy (NY-11), Rick Nolan (MN-08), John Oceguera (NV-03), Bill Owens (NY-21), Sal Pace (CO-03), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), Scott Peters (CA-52), Collin Peterson (MN-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Nick Rahall (WV-03), Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23), Raul Ruiz (CA-36), Lori Saldaña (CA-52), David Schapira (AZ-09), Brandon Shaffer (CO-04), Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09), Louise Slaughter (NY-25), Gene Stilp (PA-11), Betty Sutton (OH-16), Mark Takano (CA-41), John Tierney (MA-06), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Manan Trivedi (PA-06), Niki Tsongas (MA-03), Christie Vilsack (IA-04), Jamie Wall (WI-08), Tim Walz (MN-01), Charlie Wilson (OH-06), John Yarmuth (KY-03)
North Carolina Democrat Sees Continuing Fallout After Defending the Government Takeover of Healthcare
WASHINGTON — The 1.5 million seniors enrolled in Medicare in North Carolina could soon find doctors’ appointments harder to come by if Larry Kissell’s government takeover of healthcare is implemented as planned. Despite its growing unpopularity and drastic consequences, Kissell readily stood with President Obama and Leader Pelosi in defending their government healthcare takeover from repeal (Roll Call #14, 1/19/11).
“Larry Kissell’s government takeover of healthcare predictably has serious consequences for the 1.5 million seniors on Medicare in North Carolina,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay. “Kissell’s big-government healthcare law would empower 15 bureaucrats to get between these seniors and their doctors, potentially denying care and increasing costs even further.”
There are currently 1.5 million seniors in North Carolina relying on Medicare benefits. (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, StateHealthFacts.org, Accessed 4/30/12)
The Democrats’ government takeover of healthcare could reduce access to care for Medicare enrollees, making wait times longer and doctors’ appointments more difficult to come by:
“Dr. David F. Penson, testifying on behalf of the American Urological Association, noted that because PPACA prohibits IPAB from restricting benefits or changing eligibility criteria, ‘the board will be left with few options apart from making cuts to providers.’
“He warned, ‘These cuts could be driven so low that physicians will be forced to limit the number of Medicare beneficiaries they see, opt out of the Medicare program, or be driven out of practice altogether.'”
(Ralph Lindeman, “IPAB Would Reduce Access to Care, Witnesses Tell Ways and Means Panel,” Bloomberg, 3/7/12)