Revised
bill raises student awareness
By
Paul DeCarlo
On-line Forty-Niner
Recent
Medicare legislation in Washington, D.C.
has created a new bill that will benefit
the elderly by lowering the cost of prescription
drugs and widely expanding the role of private
health care providers. By slim passing margins
of 220-215 in the United States House of
Representatives and 54-44 in the U.S. Senate,
$400 billion will be allocated to cover
the projected cost of the legislation over
the next 10 years.
Much
debate took place on the Senate floor last
Tuesday, with pleas from prominent Democrats
calling others to rethink the issue and
cast opposing votes. The result was a major
political victory for Republicans, who now
gain control of the historically Democratic
advent of Medicare. But what does this all
mean for college students?
As
Baby Boomers are inching ever so close to
retirement, they will become increasingly
dependent on a Medicare system to supply
them with prescription drugs and long-term
health care. Current students, hopefully
by then financially successful adults, will
foot the bill for this care through higher
taxes. Currently, 25 percent of the national
electorate is elderly, and that percentage
will increase considerably in future years.
"With
an aging population, and with improved benefits
for seniors, the cost over a number of years
will continue to escalate," said Ray
Jankowski, president and CEO of the Community
Hospital of Long Beach. "The question
then becomes, will the Medicare program,
ultimately the taxpayers of the country,
be able to fund those higher costs?"
Jankowski,
54, has three children between the ages
of 13 and 21, and is well aware of the inequity
building between the working and retired
populations to come. "
I
think, ultimately, the Baby Boomer generation
is going to have to cover a greater percentage
of its health care cost, because I don't
see how the system can make it work."
Another
major area of concern regarding the fledgling
bill is its capability to cover costs of
long-term health care. Up to this point,
families have had to pay for extended care
out of their own pockets or through private
insurance. Jankowski also said that skilled
nursing care is only paid after a hospital
stay of three days.
Cameron
Stewart, president of the Conservative Student
Union at Cal State Long Beach, highlighted
his concerns with long-term care.
"What
if a family just does not take their son
or daughter off life support, but it's costing
$100,000 a day?" Steward said. "You're
going to find a lot of people saying 'Hey,
since the government's picking up the tab,
I'm going to let the person stay in a coma
for 10 or 20 years and see if they come
around.'"
Ryan
Lauterbach, president of the CSULB Students
for Wesley Clark, said that his candidate
in the upcoming presidential election in
2004 is against the new bill. He said that
Clark wants a more comprehensive plan with
realistic benefits that does not privatize
Medicare.
"We
need a prescription drug benefit that doesn't
force seniors to go through a gatekeeper,
such as an HMO, to choose what is best for
them," Lauterbach said. "I believe
it is the government's duty to provide health
care for, not only seniors, but all of its
citizens."
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