This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Congress is currently considering proposals that would make harmful cuts to Medicare and Social Security as part of a deal to pay the nation's bills. These proposals would place arbitrary limits on federal spending requiring cuts that could dramatically increase health care costs for today's seniors (55 and over), threaten their access to doctors, hospitals and nursing homes, and reduce the benefit checks they rely on to pay their bills.
Sometimes it's easy to forget that cutting budget numbers translates to slashing programs that have a disastrous effect on real people. But AARP will do everything in our power to prevent Congress from making these harmful cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
Of course Congress needs to make some tough choices to address our large and growing debt — but not by hurting today's seniors and future retirees. What lawmakers need to do is start making the right decisions about our nation's future priorities. At the top of these priorities must be the health and financial security of older Americans.
There's a better way to reduce the deficit: Congress should begin by cutting wasteful government spending and closing tax loopholes and special interest tax breaks for companies that make billions of dollars in profits, but pay little or no taxes — before considering harmful cuts to programs that are a lifeline to millions of older Americans. Tax breaks and loopholes cost the federal government an estimated $1 trillion each year.
And, perhaps most important, if we really want to reduce health care costs, Medicare should not be singled out. We need to improve the way we deliver health care in Medicare and throughout the entire system — including a greater focus on prevention, better care coordination for people with chronic illnesses, and incentives that reward doctors and hospitals for providing high quality care, not seeing the most patients or running the most tests.
Other steps we can take to reduce Medicare costs are cracking down on costly hospital readmissions, overbilling by providers, and standing up to the drug companies, which are costing Medicare billions of dollars in high-priced drugs and by preventing less-costly generic drugs from coming to market.
And, let's be clear: Social Security did not cause our nation's budget problem, and Social Security should not be weakened to fix it. There is no immediate crisis. Social Security can pay 100 percent of benefits for the next 25 years. And with modest, gradual changes, Social Security can stay strong for decades after that.
In fact, the only "crisis" on the horizon is what members of Congress may do to Medicare and Social Security benefits right now as they attempt to reach a deal to pay the nation's debts. Utah relies heavily on Social Security; it brings over $300 million per month into our state's economy, and benefits children, people with disabilities, and spouses of deceased workers as well as retirees. Indeed, nearly 29,000 Utah children are on Social Security.
AARP's members have worked their entire lives to earn their Medicare and Social Security benefits. That's why we're going to keep fighting to stop Congress from making a deal to pay the nation's bills that includes harmful cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
Alan K. Ormsby is the new state director of AARP Utah. He is a former director of the Utah Division of Services for People with Disabilities and a former director of Aging and Adult Services for the State of Utah.