ObamaCare’s negative effect on Medicare

To the editor:

Any seniors who have received the 2013 Medicare booklet should take a long look at the list of Medicare Advantage programs that are available to us next year. Any of you who think President Obama and ObamaCare are good choices for seniors should review the booklet carefully.

Medicare Advantage has been used by millions of seniors to cover services and costs (including many prescriptions) not covered by standard Medicare, and in many cases with no monthly premium over the amount already taken from your Social Security payments for Medicare Part B. In years past, we've had many choices of PPFS, PPO and HMO plans, with a wide range of premium and co-pay options.

This year, there are only two PPO plans for Clark County, and both have a monthly premium. The only plans available without a premium are HMOs. When you find that your current Medicare Advantage provider will no longer offer the plan next year, and you find that what remains is not accepted by the doctor you like, guess what? You'll be forced to take an HMO plan and use one of their doctors (if you can get one - many will force you to use a nurse as your primary contact), or pay a monthly premium of $69 or more if your current doctor accepts one of the remaining plans. If not, you'll be out looking for a new doctor, and good luck finding one in this area who accepts new Medicare patients.

You see, part of the billions taken from Medicare to pay for ObamaCare came from Medicare Advantage - the bill defunded the program. They tried to hide it before the November 2012 election by funding a few insurers, but if one of those wasn't your provider, you're out of luck.

So much for the promises we heard. "If you like your insurance, you can keep it." "If you like your doctor, you can keep him/her." "Your insurance costs will go down." Did anyone really believe this malarkey? You might also think about the unelected review board that will decide whether you are worthy of medical treatment; remember when we were told some of us should "just take a pill?"

This is the tip of the iceberg. When ObamaCare goes into full effect in 2014, can you even imagine what other surprises are in store for all of us? This abomination must be repealed while there is still time. Please think about this when you walk into the voting booth.

T. Ainsworth

Henderson

An honest Obama

To the editor:

Imagine if, as a candidate in 2008, Barack Obama had said the following to the American electorate"

"At the conclusion of my first term in office, gas prices will double. America will be more fractured by race, class and economic political warfare. Trillions of your dollars will be wasted on crony capitalism for my political contributors and 'not-so-shovel-ready jobs,' the UAW and their pension funds while bondholders are hosed.

"I will attack my political 'enemies' with the power of government, and I will take credit for killing Osama bin Laden with the Bush administration intelligence infrastructure that I lambasted as a senator. I will funnel thousands of weapons to Mexican drug cartels, which will be used to kill American agents, take credit for trade treaties negotiated under President Bush while offering none of my own, and ignore and negate laws I don't like to protect my political allies and the attorney general.

"The economy will have the weakest 'recovery' in American history. Three and a half years after the recession ends, America will still feel like it's in recession. The number of people on food stamps will increase 50 percent and the number of citizens living in poverty will double. I will place a pillow over the face of the economy while blaming George W. Bush.

"Domestic energy supplies will be stifled while America invests in other nations for oil. America's foreign policy will make our friends cringe and our enemies applaud. America will support the rise of Islamic fundamentalism while calling it 'rising democracy.' An American ambassador will be murdered for the first time in 30 years while I lie about the causes and our response to protect my re-election efforts.

"My administration will lie about every bad thing that happens and blame any of my failures on everyone but me."

Would Barack Obama have been elected if he had told the unvarnished truth about the kind of president he would be?

Barack Obama does not deserve four more minutes in office, let alone four more years.

M.R. Heeman

Blue Diamond

Good business decision

To the editor:

In response to Joe Cerva's Sunday letter, "Bad business decision": I disagree that the opposition of Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, to the president's re-election was a bad business decision. As a right-wing conservative, I plan to drive the extra five miles to shop at Home Depot, rather than Lowe's, unless they man up as well.

Mr. Cerva, who identified himself as a liberal Democrat, proved the adage that if there is a distasteful show on TV, a Republican will change the channel, but a Democrat will want it taken off the air.

If speech favors a Democrat, it is defended under freedom of speech. If speech favors a Republican, it's politically incorrect or subversive.

Carol McLendon

Henderson