Dozens of organizations across the country are planning events to celebrate Medicare on or around the program’s 48th birthday on July 30. The North Carolina Council of Churches is among groups that have long advocated for health care for all God’s children. Find an event in your area or get the tool kit to plan your own celebration at the Healthcare–Now! website.
To celebrate Medicare’s birthday, you also might want to check out this study from the Archives of Internal Medicine and invite some friends in for discussion.
As the folks at Healthcare–Now! remind us, Medicare has provided longer, healthier lives and basic health security for two generations of seniors, reducing un-insurance among those older than 65 to almost zero, and having the single greatest impact reducing racial inequities in healthcare in our country’s history.
Also according to Healthcare–Now!, Medicare is cheaper and much more popular than private health insurance. Expanding Medicare to the entire population would save more than enough to eliminate all cost sharing such as copays and deductibles, and guarantee comprehensive coverage for all. Instead of cuts, we should expand Medicare to cover everyone living in the United States.
–Sandy Irving, Volunteer Program Associate
Posted on behalf of Sandy Irving:
I would encourage you to report any fraud you can document to the appropriate places. All programs (public and private–even churches) need watchdogs. Medicare is such a good program, but we should do everything we can to make it better. For information about Senior Medicare Patrol, go to http://www.smpresource.org or call 1-877-808-2468 toll-free.
Considering the huge amount of fraud in Medicare, it places a big damper on any celebration of this program. God’s children should not commit fraud to collect public funds.