UNION RETIREES WARN ABOUT ROMNEY/RYAN DESIRE TO PRIVATIZE MEDICARE

Q JINN

2012-08-30 12:36:43 UTC

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<A
href=3D"http://www.afscme.org/blog/afscme-member-discusses-retirement-secu=
rity-at-white-house">http://www.afscme.org/blog/afscme-member-discusses-re=
tirement-security-at-white-house</A>
 
<DIV class=3Dpost>
<H1><A title=3D"AFSCME Member Discusses Retirement Security at White House=

"
href=3D"http://www.afscme.org/blog/afscme-member-discusses-retirement-secu=
rity-at-white-house">AFSCME Member Discusses Retirement Security at White House
</A></H1>
by Clyde Weiss  |  July 18, 2012
<DIV style=3D"WIDTH: 340px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px; FLOAT: left;
MARGIN-RIGHT: 15px"><IMG style=3D"BORDER-BOTTOM: #585858 1px solid;
BORDER-LEFT: #585858 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #585858 1px solid;
BORDER-RIGHT: #585858 1px solid" title=3D"New York AFSCME retiree Stuart
Leibowitz" alt=3D"New York AFSCME retiree Stuart Leibowitz"
src=3D"Loading Image...

" width=3D340=

height=3D261> New Yo=
rk
AFSCME retiree Stuart Leibowitz participated in a White House panel
discussion on senior issues Monday. (Photo by Jon
Melegrito)</DIV>
New York AFSCME retiree Stuart Leibowitz served as a
panelist at Monday's <A
href=3D"http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/07/16/vice-president-biden-spe=
aks-seniors-about-retirement-security"
jQuery16407106976830082747=3D"15">White House Community
Leaders Briefing on Senior Issues</A>, discussing
the importance of preserving Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
Leibowitz warned against right-wing plans to privatize those social
safety net programs.
Vice President Joe Biden opened the briefing, which was
attended by AFSCME retiree members from Maryland, New York, North
Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Leibowitz, one of three retiree
panelists who spoke at the event, is president of AFSCME's New York City
Retiree <A href=3D"http://www.dc37.net/about/retirees.html"
jQuery16407106976830082747=3D"16">Chapter 37</A><FON=
T
size=3D4>  as well as the New York City Alliance for Retired
Americans.
In his remarks at the White House, Leibowitz made the
point that his own brain surgery a few years ago would have been
unaffordable without <A
href=3D"http://www.afscme.org/union/retirees/resources/new-health-care-law=
/document/10110.pdf"
jQuery16407106976830082747=3D"17">Medicare</A> coverage.
"Who can afford the price of major surgery?" he asked in=

an interview after the White House event. "It is impossible for anybody
=96 unless you're in the top 1 percent =96 to pay your own bills with
respect to major surgery."
Medicare faces threats from the Rep. Paul Ryan budget
bill passed in March by the Republican majority in the House of
Representatives and supported by the presumed GOP Presidential nominee
Mitt Romney. The Romney/Ryan budget would replace Medicare's guaranteed
benefits package with a flat-payment subsidy (or "voucher"). With it,
beneficiaries could purchase either private health insurance or
traditional Medicare, but Leibowitz said the GOP bill stacks the deck
against the traditional program and would soon lead to its demise. It
essentially privatizes the program, he said. <A
href=3D"http://www.afscme.org/issues/health-care/resources/document/HOUSE-=
MEDICARE-FACTSHEET.pdf"
jQuery16407106976830082747=3D"18">Learn more about the
Romney/Ryan Medicare threat here</A>.
Leibowitz said guaranteed coverage is "priceless" and
that those who advocate privatization of Medicare "are doing the nation
a grave disservice, especially the senior population, which is growing
every day and living longer." Medicare vouchers will eventually fall
behind the cost of coverage, requiring seniors to pay more and more from
their own pockets.
Leibowitz praised Vice President Biden and President
Obama for their commitment to preserving Medicare, Medicaid and Social
Security. Social Security provides benefits for survivors and people
with disabilities, as well as retirees, he noted.  He said that,
contrary to some reports, "the system is not broke and whoever says it's
broke is a liar." The Social Security trustees say the system is in
surplus and will be able to pay all benefits for another 25 years, and
75 percent of benefits after that. It needs some tinkering to fill-in
the gap, but it can be sustained without major changes, he
emphasized.<IMG style=3D"DISPLAY: none"
src=3D"Loading Image...

" width=3D1 height=3D1> 
<DIV class=3Dpost-tags>Posted In: <A title=3D"Health=

Care"
href=3D"http://www.afscme.org/blog/archive?c=3Dissues&t=3Dhealth-care"=

<FONT

size=3D4>Health Care</A>, <A title=3DMedicaid=

href=3D"http://www.afscme.org/blog/archive?c=3Dissues&t=3Dmedicaid"><F=
ONT
size=3D4>Medicaid</A>, <A title=3DMedicare
href=3D"http://www.afscme.org/blog/archive?c=3Dissues&t=3Dmedicare"><F=
ONT
size=3D4>Medicare</A>, <A title=3DRetirees
href=3D"http://www.afscme.org/blog/archive?c=3Dblog_categories&t=3Dret=
irees">Retirees</A>, <A title=3D"Retirement=

Security"
href=3D"http://www.afscme.org/blog/archive?c=3Dissues&t=3Dretirement-s=
ecurity">Retirement Security</A>, <A
title=3D"Social Security"
href=3D"http://www.afscme.org/blog/archive?c=3Dissues&t=3Dsocial-secur=
ity">Social Security</A>
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