An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal shed some light on how John McCain plans to fund those tax credits he believes will help people buy health insurance: He plans to rob Medicare and Medicaid of what independent analysts project to be $1.3 trillion dollars over the next decade in order to fund his proposal. Even those of us who don't have a connection to Medicare and Medicaid need to worry. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122315505846605217.html#printMode.

The implications for Pennsylvania are significant. Senator Casey said yesterday that some 2.2 million older Pennsylvanians served by Medicare and 1 million children served by Medicaid would be adversely affected by McCain’s proposal. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Pennsylvania has a larger percentage of Medicare beneficiaries than the national average – 18% as compared to 15% nationally – and a larger percentage than even Florida (17%). http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/comparemaptable.jsp?ind=291&cat=6&su....

Medicare beneficiaries, both those 65 and over and those who are eligible based on disability, tend to be sicker and use more health care than the general population. Almost half live on incomes that are at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, and most depend on Social Security as their primary source of income. Since Medicare was enacted in 1965, we have gone from only half of the older people living in America having health insurance to virtually all seniors being covered. http://www.kff.org/medicare/upload/7821.pdf.

And, Medicare beneficiaries already pay a large share of the total costs for their health care, about 26%. There are separate deductibles for hospital and doctor coverage, high cost-sharing for most benefits, a gap in coverage called the donut hole for prescription drugs, limited coverage for nursing home care, and no cap on out-of-pocket expenses. Overall, the Medicare benefit is less generous than benefits offered by the typical large employer plan and by benefits under the typical federal health benefit plan. http://www.kff.org/medicare/upload/7768.pdf.

Before Medicare, families had to pay for the cost of health care for their parents and grandparents. Do we want to go back to that time? Especially with the economy the way it is now?

As for Medicaid, Medicaid is funded through federal and state contributions. In other words, Pennsylvania already pays its fair share of the costs of the program that serves the neediest residents – those in nursing homes, those with very limited incomes and resources, and young children. Reductions in federal Medicaid payments would mean that Pennsylvania would have to pick up more of the tab.

Instead of coming up with creative ways to extend health insurance to everyone, McCain is looking to cut programs, Medicare and Medicaid, that he has never liked, to give tax credits that aren’t going to do much to reduce the number of uninsured or to improve quality of health care. Is this the health reform policy we want for our country?