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Paul Washington
Mill Hall
The Republicans in Congress recently passed a budget blueprint that would require reductions in spending on Medicaid and/or Medicare. Our representative, Glenn "GT" Thompson, voted for that blueprint, and has consistently supported initiatives to limit Medicaid and Medicare funding. He has also been quite supportive of the recent personnel cuts in those programs, and of the personnel cuts in the V.A., all to save a fraction of 1% of the Federal budget, even though anyone who uses the services knows that those bureaucracies were already understaffed.
There may be some waste, but these programs are by far the most cost-efficient health insurance systems in the country.
Does GT not realize that over 45% of the people in his district receive their medical care through Medicare and Medicaid (in nearly equal numbers)? When we add in the districts' veteran population that uses the V.A. system, the portion of the districts' population being served by these programs rises above 48% -- this is about once and a half the national average.
Because Medicare and the V.A. only serve people of voting age, it turns out that over half of the eligible voters in the district receive Medicare, Medicaid or V.A. provided health care. Everyone in the district either receives these benefits or knows someone who is receiving them.These people aren't freeloaders; there is no alternative health insurance, and without that insurance their medical costs will bankrupt them and the hospitals that are required to serve them even when they cannot pay.
If these cuts are enacted, what will they cost us? Every time there are cuts to these programs, someone isn't getting the health care they need because they're having to choose between buying food, paying normal bills and paying for medical care. In the end, these cuts come out of the local economy -- more debt and fewer purchases by a significant portion of the population leads to fewer jobs and less money for everyone else.
Bankrupt hospitals close and associated health care services move away. And then there are the stresses borne by friends and family.
These cuts will hurt the entire district, further depressing this hardscrabble region and making health care less available for everyone.
So, the question needs to be asked: Who is GT really representing? Is he really unaware of what his votes will mean for his constituents? He appears to be just following the lead of the party in Washington without worrying about his constituents. Whatever the reason, he is certainly not representing the interests of his district.