Obama Assures Medicare Benefits for Seniors

Today's seniors are skeptical about the overhaul of healthcare laws in the Obama administration, prompting the defense of what the administration touts as its biggest accomplishment amidst news regarding the Gulf oil spill and the upcoming elections.

The questions Obama received regarding healthcare laws from phone-in listeners and people in a Maryland senior center suggest that while the buzz has died down somewhat, a cloud of doubt still remains. With the President having very little elbow room while addressing the issue, he and his administration are still hoping to showcase what people can get from the law and generate confidence in the relatively fledgling government.

Incidentally, the President's question-and-answer forum coincided with the release of the initial set of checks (amounting to $250) to some of the four million retirees dealing with the gap in Medicare's prescribed drug coverage, known colloquially as the "doughnut hole." The amount is meant to initiate the bridging of the Medicare gap until it is hopefully closed within the next decade.

Obama stated that Medicare plan holders would not have to give up any the guaranteed benefits they've earned, although people who have Medicare Advantage plans will. He then explained that the private Medicare Advantage plans are subsidized by many seniors on normal Medicare, and are overpriced. He also projected that Medicare fraud, waste, and abuse will be halved by government measures in as little as two years.

The senior bloc has been one of the groups that the current administration is taking steps to placate, especially about their skepticism towards current Medicare laws. This skepticism is not misplaced, as laws to strengthen Medicare, as with other government programs, take upwards of billions of dollars and much time to put into active legislation. However, the administration is hoping to get a boost from groups such as the Health Information Center to promote better healthcare laws, led by Wal-Mart Watch advocate Andrew Grossman, and the support of other players such as former senator Tom Daschle.