11/5/2009 - West Side Leader
     

To the editor:

Thursday, July 30, Medicare and Medicaid turned 44 years old. Many people and medical professionals doubted Medicare would work for older Americans. Medicare is a mainstay of our health care system and is available, affordable, accessible, comprehensive, there when we need it, with low administrative costs and a choice of doctors and providers.

Many doubted Medicaid would work, but it brought us off the poor farms and provides a reasonable level of long-term health care. The recent cuts to Ohio’s Medicaid long-term care budget show why we need a stable public and private funding source and planning for community-based and nursing facility care as we age.

As retired workers who produced for Ohio’s economy, we don’t think enough attention is being paid to the enormous costs of long-term care. It’s going to hit most of us at some point, and it will absolutely wipe you out financially.

We must make sure the health care bill Congress is working on includes the CLASS Act, which would create a public-private insurance program to help middle-class Americans be better prepared for when long-term medical care is needed for either them or a loved one. The Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans urges the Ohio congressional delegation to help families with the staggering costs of long-term care.

Charlie Lemon, president of United Retirees of America, an affiliate of the Ohio Alliance of Retired Americans, Norton

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