We have an obligation to our senior citizens

By Congressman Bruce Poliquin
(R-Maine)
    Our senior citizens helped build this great country and state. As your Congressman this is something I will never forget or take for granted. We should fulfill the promises we have made to our seniors and one of those promises is Medicare.
    We must make sure programs like Medicare are well managed so our senior citizens, their doctor caregivers, and the taxpayers who fund our government are all protected.
    As part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 something called a Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) was created. It was intended to help control the upward spiraling cost of health care by cutting pay to doctors who over-prescribe procedures for Medicare patients.
    Unfortunately it hasn’t worked.
    Health care costs keep rising and doctors’ pay for Medicare services keep falling.

    But, instead of fixing the problem, Washington has done what it does best — it’s kicked the can down the street. For more than a decade, hard-working American taxpayers have paid nearly $170 billion in “doc fix patches” while career politicians refused to work across the aisle to solve the problem for the long-term.
    All the while, senior citizens who have paid Medicare taxes their entire working lives worry if doctors will continue to see them.
    The problem became so severe that, last month, physicians caring for our elderly parents and grandparents were looking at a 21 percent pay cut. Without Congress responsibly addressing the problem, tens of thousands of doctors in Maine and across the country might not be able to afford the care we need to provide our Medicare patients during their golden years.
    I ran for Congress to help solve serious problems that are hurting our 2nd District families.
    Two weeks ago, I joined House Republicans and Democrats to, finally, repeal the SGR mess and adopt real Medicare reforms to strengthen the program for our seniors and future generations.
    Now, it’s the Senate’s turn to do its job and pass this bipartisan bill. Then, hopefully, the President will sign “doc fix” into law. If so, Washington will have demonstrated to the American people that it can work together to get important things done. Whatever the final outcome, Maine’s 2nd Congressional District has proudly and pragmatically done its job.
    For several years, I’ve been speaking publicly about our federal government’s need to address the $34 trillion unfunded liability for the huge Medicare program. In part because of continued advances in medical technology and treatments, Americans are living longer and more healthfully. That’s a blessing. Even so, tens of millions of retiring baby boomers are putting acute financial strains on Medicare (and Social Security). That’s why $34 trillion more of projected health care benefits have been promised than there is estimated funds to pay for those services.
    I’m pleased that the recent U.S. House of Representatives’ repeal of the SGR included the first significant Medicare reforms in decades.
    Beginning in 2018, senior couples earning more than $267,000 per year will be asked to pay a little more in their monthly Medicare premiums. There will be no changes to the health care benefits provided. This funding reform will help ensure that senior citizens who depend on Medicare will receive the services they were promised. The reform will also strengthen the program for younger Americans who hope to benefit from the same health care services that their parents and grandparents are enjoying today.
    Some of America’s serious problems have been allowed to grow so big that they cannot be solved easily or quickly. However, we must have the political courage to start the process, like the House dealing with the “doc fix” issue.
    With Washington finally moving down this path, job creators will have the confidence to expand their businesses or start new ones, and hire more workers in Maine and beyond. More jobs with fatter paychecks, more freedom, and better lives. We can do this. Let’s have the guts to make it happen.
    For more information on this Medicare protection bill, feel free to contact our Congressional Offices in Lewiston, Bangor, Presque Isle, or Washington.