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Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton) is warning that health care costs for the elderly could double if a bill proposed by a Wisconsin Republican goes through.
Speaking in a telephone town hall with constituents on Tuesday, McNerney said Paul Ryan’s plan to offer vouchers to seniors to replace Medicare would continue the current problems with rising health care costs. He said those rises have been averaging 15-20% a year.
McNerney is an active supporter of the health care reform package that passed last year. People called in from across his district, including a number from Pleasanton, and were introduced by first names only.
Kay of Pleasanton worried that the Medicare reform package is too expensive to the federal government and asked what changes could be made to make it more affordable.
“Health care costs are increasing,” McNerney acknowledged. “We will reach a point where it starts causing problems with our federal budget.”
Ryan’s bill is part of his overall plan to reduce federal spending on entitlement programs including Social Security and Medicare. Under his bill, people who enroll in Medicare after 2020 would receive a fixed contribution from the federal government rather than a benefit package, like those who are currently receiving Medicare. Those later enrollees would apply their entitlement against the cost of health insurance.
Health care reform — often called Obamacare — has been under increasing scrutiny after last year’s elections, which led to a Republican majority in Congress.
However, McNerney said that by reducing “waste, fraud and abuse,” the costs would become more manageable.
“There’s a lot of things in our current reform package that will reduce the cost of Medicare over the next 10 years or so,” McNerney said.
Pleasanton resident Timothy worried about coverage under the voucher system proposed by Ryan.
“Is there something that says if we go to that kind of system that the insurers do have to insure us and make it affordable?” he asked.
McNerney said that’s one of the problems with Ryan’s plan.
“History has shown that when people have price support (as in the voucher plan) in the system, the insurance companies just raise their rates,” he said. “What I want to do is make sure that we continue with our current Medicare plan. The overhead is low. It’s very efficient.”
Connie of Pleasanton was concerned about prescription prices; she noted that the current health care reform package blocked the federal government from negotiating prices with drug companies, although that’s already being done by the military.
McNerney pointed out that while that was originally not allowed, the reform package will allow the government to negotiate in the future, which would reduce prescription prices “significantly.”
The number of doctors available for Medicare patients was worrisome for both Virginia of Dublin and Pleasanton resident Trinity.
“Will the insurance companies have doctors working for them? It’s hard today to find a doctor who’s taking Medicare right now,” Virginia said.
Trinity pointed out that there’s already a backlog for doctors who can see Medicare patients or people with disabilities, who are also covered under the plan.
McNerney said the health care reform package has taken that into consideration by giving new doctors financial incentives to become generalists and not specialists.
“We need to make sure there’s enough primary care physicians out there to met the needs of the American people,” he said. “You don’t want folks to have to wait months to see a physician.”
McNerney added that wellness programs that keep people healthy and out of doctors offices and hospitals are also part of the plan.
This from the congressman that voted for OBAMACARE AND A 500 BILLION DOLLAR CUT IN MEDICARE, NOW HE SCREAMS ITS THE REPUBLICANS. GIVE US A BREAK WE OUR NOT STUPID.
The less the elderly pay for the healthcare, the more future generations (including their grandchildren) will pay for it. Plus future generations won’t get the same benefits. The money is just not there.
I’d love to see all these grandparents explain to their grandchildren that they won’t have it as good and will need to pay extra to pay for elderly costs. But I’m sure they will find a way to justify it to themselves.
Bottom line, it is inter-generational theft on a grand scale.
Paul Ryan does not understand the middle class. It is as simple as that. Some credible candidate in Wisconsin needs to run against him and get him out of office before he does any more damage.
What you want another politician that will promise that you can get things for free as our national debt continues to rise and therefore is reducing the standard of living for future Americans?
And before you make the next obvious statement of raising taxes on the rich, do yourself a favor and actually do the calculation. Increased tax revenue from the wealthy won’t come close to covering the future bills.
Because of the Republican obstructionism, the Obama plan didn’t go through as it should have, with a PUBLIC OPTION that would create COMPETITION against the thieves of the Health Insurance industry. So now, the problem will continue to increase, since we don’t have a force to go against this shameful oligarchy that buys the Republican votes. Shame on the Health Insurance thugs, and shame on the GOP!
Huh?
Theft who is reduced to a “Huh?”
Too complex for you, evidently.
I participated in this phone town hall and it was a joke. It’s much easier for the Congressman to sidestep the real question being asked and then inject his hype. It would be more difficult to do that in a real town hall because in that case he has to look the audience in the eye, he gets immediate feedback, and the video is running. McNerney does not have the guts to face his constituents in a real town hall. Wake up people. It’s very important to vote this clown and Pelosi lap dog out in 2012.
no Ngo, I attended the congress in the corner at the Pleasanton library last friday, and jerry sidestepped the very few hard questions that were asked of him there as well
i say very few because there were less than 20 people in attendance who were not Jerry’s staff (or his wife), and most of them were supporters
Somebody is getting desperate – faking a response by be and then stu’s response – pathetic.
I thought one party controlled both houses and the White House and didn’t need any votes from the other party? And I thought much of the deals with industry (e.g. pharamaceuticals were done by Obama and staff in back rooms). Funny how the monstrosity of Obamacare is now the fault of Republicans.
Lastly, have you taken a look at other countries lately who have single payer systems – e.g. the UK? They too are struggling with exploding costs, so I’m not quite sure that is the answer.
Just to clarify – so McNerny will be using Medicare as structured by the reform package he supports? DID ANYONE ASK THAT? If that won’t be his sole source of health insurance as he suggests for everyone else, forget it – he’s blowing hot air. This business about increasing the number of general practitioners sounds like more of the government control thing – can’t see a specialist unless your gp says so. That’s a scary scenario. But as long as Jerry is subject to the same rules…..
America just keeps getting fatter
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-obesity-report-20110708,0,3732059.story
And why should I care one bit to save a program I won’t benefit from (it will long be bankrupt before I retire) when the average American doesn’t care enough to take care of themselves? I’m sure the progressives out there have a reason for why it is not Amerian’s fault and they are the victim of something – maybe those greedy corporations or Wall Street.
Boy are we one fat, lazy, entitled country. I am definitely not proud to be an American.
Jerry, the messenger, needs watching. The Dems have regrouped for attacks and lies….definitely in ‘campaign mode’. The chief campaigner, David Pluff, much more calculating & cut-throat than Carl Rove, was brought into Obama’s inner-office the first of the year. The campaign tactics were spelled out to Dem incumbents like Pelosi and McNerney, and all the MSNBC pundits, who this week came out swinging and are now campaigning 24/7.
Pelosi and Mormon Harry Reid’s health care bill and all it’s flaws are now being exposed as doctors are starting to refuse treatment to medicare patrons and as companies are dropping company medical coverage. As individuals lose the level of care they were use to, the new rules are becoming exposed.
McNerney’s library visit last week didn’t have many people, because that was the plan. Since he can’t cope with groups very well, the whole thing was just 2 hours, with just a few in tiny control groups of a dozen allowed in the room with Jerry. That’s REAL crowd control !
Too bad he doesn’t have courage to meet in that little meeting room with 40 at a time…that’s if 40 wanted to attend. He is a dutiful messenger however, following the campaign script in confusing and defending the medicare nightmare…I wonder if they’ve finally had time to read it…you remember Pelosi saying, “well, I don’t know, we’ll have to pass it to find out what’s in it ” !. (oh, spare us)
Yep, I was angered that McNerney didn’t address questions exactly the way I wanted them addressed. Nor did he make reference to my slave-owning founding parents every ten seconds like he should have. We’re fat and lazy and our district needs to be more like Texas: Jobettes, jobettes, jobettes. That should be our new mantra.
Rick Perry’s additions of jobs are really “jobettes,” offering low pay, no benefits and no upward mobility. In fact, under Rickonomics, Texas has added more minimum wage jobs than all other states combined! After 10 years in office, Gov. Perry presides over a state that has more people in poverty and more without health coverage than any other.
I remain a proud Texan. Texans know how to do it right. Avoid tsunamis; add more jobettes.
Right, let’s spend billions if not trillions more dollars (that we don’t have) on fat, lazy people who don’t have the wherewithal to take care of themselves.
Oh yes, 300lb smoking Aunt May with type II diabetes deserves that second hip replacement. It is difficult for her to get from the refrigerator to the couch. She is entiled to the best healthcare money can buy because it is now a right in America.
“whole thing was just 2 hours”
The WHOLE thing was 1 hour! On a Friday, heading in to a holiday weekend, during work hours.
And fact is, there were not even enough attendees to form a second group, so whoever showed up had to sign a roster, were given numbered comment slips (to match you to your sign in, they want to know who you are) and were showed in to the room. Jerry had to go around the room several times and ask little kids if they had questions, just to fill the 1 hour.
Hey tpTexan, the thread is about health care talk, I know your childish mind has trouble tracking. Your single focus seems to be Rick Perry who has you quivering and flustered. He’s not my guy so I don’t care, but you probably should seek help.
I imagine there are low-paying jobs in Texas, they have the largest number of illegals, soon CA will buypass, in both illegals and low-paying, since CA is suffering unemployemnt several percentage points HIGHER than our couintry’s horrific 9.2% unemployment.
radical, thanks for the info. I know word is out that you have to practically show a passport,,,to INTIMIDATE, so any opposition can be tracked down. Jerry knew he couldn’t speak to groups when he ran, but like he has said, he didn’t have any medical insurance, so went for the job, You know there is nothing better than their Congressional medical….nothing like us peons have. Why isn’t ours good enough for them or, us good enough for theirs ?? Hmmm isn’t this of, by, and for the people,,,any more ?? But, mainly, Jerry got his, and all he has to do is vote as Pelosi tells him.
Until McNerney admits that he’s a Marxist communist who desires the little people to overthrow the big people (not Aunt May — classy comment, that one), I’ll not give him any credit at all. He either holds telephoned meetings or he spends hard-earned tax dollars (mine) to fly back here to hold meetings. What gives with that? Pombo was so much better wasn’t he?