Medicare brochure draws ire of Republicans

May 27, 2010 at 08:00 PM
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Republicans are objecting to a new brochure which was sent to Medicare's 44 million beneficiaries in an attempt to outline the impact of the new health law on Medicare coverage. The brochure, say angry Republicans, has a distinctly political bent. According to the brochure, the new law "will keep Medicare strong and solvent. Your guaranteed Medicare benefits won't change — whether you get them through Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan."

"This goes beyond propaganda and is blatantly political," said House Ways and Means committee member Dave Camp of the four-paged brochure. "The administration has gone too far with this document and is doing a disservice to America's seniors, who will soon have to deal with over one-half trillion in cuts to the Medicare program."

Medicare officials, for their part, claim the mailing is merely an attempt to get information to the beneficiaries who will be impacted by the law. Marilyn Tavenner, head of the agency that administers the program, stressed the importance of alerting Medicare beneficiaries about coming changes in the Medicare program as well as informing them about what will remain unchanged.

Furthermore, said Tavenner, her agency has learned from past changes to the program, such as the GOP-supported drug benefit, "that unfortunately new opportunities for Medicare beneficiaries also bring new opportunities for scam artists to try and defraud seniors."

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