National Right to Life has been working for a decade to obtain protections against health care rationing in Medicare. The Medicare bill signed into law by President Bush on December 8, 2003 incorporates virtually all of the provisions sought by NRLC, according to NRLC Medical Ethics Director Burke Balch.

“The Medicare bill empowers older Americans to avoid involuntary denial of lifesaving treatment by giving them the option, if they wish, of adding their own money on top of the government contribution in order to get health insurance that does not ration lifesaving medical treatment,” said Mr. Balch.

This option is called “private fee-for-service” and is available both in the “core” Medicare benefit for hospitalization and physician services and for the new prescription drug benefit. The bill ensures that bureaucrats cannot impose rationing-causing price controls on senior citizens who choose this option.

“The significance of the bill is profound,” Mr. Balch said. “It will make possible the saving of literally millions of lives of senior citizens in the future, especially during the critical decades following the retirement of the ‘baby boom’ generation.”

The reason for this is the economic reality that, in order to provide baby boomers Medicare coverage without massive tax increases (which are very unlikely), government payments per beneficiary will not be able to keep up with medical inflation. Thus, if only government Medicare funds were available, the only possible result would have to be massive and increasing rationing. Even worse, since senior citizens are required to participate in Medicare, this would amount to government-imposed involuntary euthanasia. However, under the new Medicare bill, senior citizens will finally be able to use their own money to save their own lives!

Both Virginia senators voted for passage of the final bill, as did nine of the eleven Virginia Representatives. The only negative votes from Virginians on final passage were Bobby Scott (D-3) and Jim Moran (D-8).

For a more complete explanation of the Medicare bill, rationing, and NRLC’s efforts in this area, please see the NRLC web site at www.nrlc.org/Medicare/medicarevictory.html.

Published in VSHL Lifesaver, January 2004