Through his misguided veto of the Medicare bill, President Bush once again reflexively sided with the special interests of the big insurance companies, rather than with seniors struggling to afford quality health care.

This veto, had it held up, would have prompted an exodus of physicians from treating Medicare patients and made it even harder for low-income seniors to afford their medical care – all in the name of preserving the excessive taxpayer subsidies to the Medicare Advantage programs run by large insurance companies.  This hardly sounds like the work of a self-described “compassionate conservative.”

Medicare Advantage programs, on the average, cost 13 percent more than if Medicare directly provided these same services.  Moreover, the rapidly-expanding fee-for-service plans are overpaid by 17 percent.  This egregious example of corporate welfare siphons valuable money from the Medicare Trust Fund, taking from those with the least and giving to those with the most.

President Bush’s veto of H.R. 6331 continues his legacy of sacrificing older Americans’ health care needs for the profits of large corporations.  Thanks to all of the members who voted to override his veto yesterday, physicians will continue to treat Medicare patients, low-income seniors will receive extra assistance with their health care costs, and Medicare Advantage programs will be reformed so that more money goes to seniors and not large corporations.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 12:29 pm and is filed under Politics, Healthcare, The Administration .