This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Joe Courtney Speaks to Local Residents About Impacts of GOP Medicare Plan

Congressman Joe Courtney hosted a public forum at Windham Middle School on Tuesday to discuss the House Republican plan to privatize Medicare.

Connecticut’s 2nd District would be one of the 10 districts in the country hit hardest by the House Republican Medicare plan, due to the large number of Eastern Connecticut residents between 45 and 54, according to an analysis of census data by Bloomberg News.

Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney used that report Tuesday to emphasise his opposition to the plan as he spoke to a small crowd of area residents at Windham Middle School. 

Courtney, along with Dr. Rebecca Andrews of the 's Health Center, spoke about the serious impact local residents might face if the plan proposed by Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan passed through Congress.

Find out what's happening in Mansfield-Storrswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Dr. Andrews, a primary-care physician and clinic director, spoke about preventive care and how recent changes to Medicare had allowed her to “save lives instead of just chasing diseases.”

Andrews spoke of two of her patients who were able to get regular checkups and preventative care that allowed her to catch the early stages of colon cancer in one, and bladder cancer in another. Because the visits were covered under Medicare, both were caught early, and neither patient needed to undergo chemotherapy or other drastic measures, according to Andrews.

Find out what's happening in Mansfield-Storrswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“It’s very hard to sort of put a number, in terms of savings, that a patient, or two, like the ones she described would generate for the system,” said Courtney.

“Cost containment is really a mind-shift for everyone,” said Andrews. “It’s difficult to grasp that the benefit you’ll receive is a year down the line.”

Courtney explained that the Republican plan would convert Medicare from a defined benefit plan into a voucher for seniors and the disabled to purchase their own private insurance beginning in 2022.

“The out-of-pocket cost for middle-class families would skyrocket,” said Courtney, who pointed out that annual increases for the voucher would be tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and not to the increase in medical spending, which normally outpaces inflation.

Additionally, the changes to Medicare under the proposed budget would increase the prescription drug costs for 7,800 residents in the 2nd District, resulting in an estimated $77 million in additional prescription drug costs for 2nd District seniors over the next decade, Courtney said.

One Mansfield resident knew where to find the funds for healthcare.

“War is one of the greatest health problems in the world,” said Charles Prewitt, of Mansfield Center. “We spend more than a half-trillion dollars a year on the military, more than all the other nations of the world put together. If that half-trillion dollars was spent on healthcare for the people of the United States, and some for the people of third-world countries, we’d be a much healthier people.”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?