AARP backs Medicare cuts

As the Senate prepares to vote on a controversial Medicare funding amendment to the $848 billion health care bill, the seniors lobby has weighed in with a letter affirming it supports the proposed $460 billion in cuts to the program.

Since Monday, the Senate has been debating an amendment by Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain to strip the Medicare cuts -- which are being used to offset other costs in the bill, such as providing government subsidies to help low- and middle-income families buy health insurance.

The AARP, which has supported the health care effort, said in a letter today that it believes the money can be found in Medicare by targeting waste and abuse.

"AARP believes that savings can be found in Medicare through smart, targeted changes aimed at improving health care delivery, eliminating waste and inefficiency, and aggressively weeding out fraud and abuse," reads the letter by AARP CEO A. Barry Rand. "We believe that Medicare changes in this bill begin to move us down this path, without reducing guaranteed Medicare benefits."

Republicans, including McCain, have argued for months that it will be hard to cut billions from Medicare without reducing services the program provides. "Above all, we must not use Medicare as a piggy bank," McCain said.

Democrats touted an amendment proposed by Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., that states that nothing in the legislation would bring about a reduction of Medicare benefits. "With health care reform – and especially with this amendment – we’ll protect and strengthen the promise we make to our seniors, that they’ll continue to be able to get the care they need, when they need it, from the doctor they like," said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

Dodd and other Democrats have noted on the floor that McCain proposed Medicare cuts during his 2008 presidential campaign. McCain has said Democrats fought efforts to cut the program in the past because of concerns over the impact on seniors.

Posted by John Fritze at 05:31 PM/ET, December 02, 2009 in Health care
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