Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Medicare a major issue for Congress

Medicare is an issue the 109th Congress will have to address when it resumes on Jan. 31.

Congressman Mike Ross voted against the Medicare drug bill, predicting it would be a mess  it is (see sidebar story). Its been chaotic, he said.

The problem is there are more than 40 different plans for those who are Medicare eligible to choose from. This, Ross said, complicates things at pharmacies. Where there was Medicaid and one plan, there are all new rules now and no one knows what they cover, how to tell people to sign up or file claims.

Those who are on Medicare, but are Medicaid eligible, he said, are assigned a plan. This is done randomly. A lot of people have fallen through the cracks and were not assigned a plan, he added.

The big problem is we had the opportunity to negotiate for 40 million senior citizens with big drug companies and bring the price down, Ross said. This plan doesnt give us buying power. The next issue for seniors, once theyre on the plan is the cost.

Seniors will be charged $30 per month for their plan, with the first $250 a year being the deductible. This will come from their Social Security checks, he said. From $250-2,250 it looks good as 75 percent of the drugs are paid for. But from $2,250-5,100 a year, the people are still paying the $30 a month, but Medicare pays nothing toward their drug costs. After reaching $5,100, Medicare pays 100 percent.

I plan to figure out a way to make health care more affordable, Ross said. I have an idea Ill be working on.

Ive met with a lot of people who saved for their retirement, but have had a major medical problem before they retired and cant get insurance outside the plan they have. Theyre forced to keep working just to pay for insurance.

Ross said people need to be able to buy into Medicare earlier, and small businesses and the self employed should be allowed to buy into the federal employee health plan. This, he continued, would be better than passing tax cuts to the wealthy.

Tax credits could be provided for small businesses providing health insurance for its employees.

Health issues wont be the only thing Ross will be working on while in Washington, D.C. As a member of the Energy/Commerce Commission he will be working to hold oil companies accountable. He said it was criminal for them to make record profits when working families cant afford the price at the pumps.

Weve got to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, he said., and do more with alternate energy.

Ross said he would like to see it mandatory to have 10 percent ethanol in all gasoline. This would create more jobs for farm families. There are six ethanol plants in Arkansas at this time.

Its time Congress stood up to big oil companies, he said. Its the same with natural gas. The energy bill was a good start, but needs to be improved. We need to get away from foreign natural gas as well.

Energy will be one of the biggest issues facing us for a long time to come. The global economy has created more demand for foreign oil from China and India. Its causing problems with supply and demand.

Ross said there is a lot of technology America needs to invest in. He pointed out Potlatch in McGee wants to create a biomass electric plant, using the timber left from wood not used in other products. This could be used to generate enough power to run five or six towns the size of Prescott. The problem is it will take several hundred million dollars to do. Its cost prohibitive.

But, he added, the nation needs to invest in this kind of technology.

Another issue will be a new Farm Bill. The current bill, passed in 2002, expires at the end of this year. It guides agriculture in America for the next five years.

I will be heavily involved in it, Ross said. Colin Peterson, the ranking member of the agriculture committee, will be here (in Arkansas). Well host town meetings so farm families can say what they like and dont like in the 02 bill.

There will be a lot of changes in Washington, he said. Most of those in Congress are good people who want to do the job they were elected to do. There are some philosophical differences between us and there are some bad apples. This isnt a partisan problem. We need to clean up corruption in Washington and I want to be part of the effort to restore accountability and good government.

Those who took kickbacks from lobbyists, he said, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He added, Congress needs to limit the amount of influence lobbyists have on the process.

Ross said representatives need to spend more time in their districts than Washington. This would limit the contact they would have with lobbyists, and let them know what their constituents think and want.