[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [cchcc-l] TAKE ACTION: Stop the Disastrous Ryan Budget Plan!

[Levy, Stuart A]

Dear Friends,

Congress is once again trying to dismantle Medicare and all of the
progress achieved by the health reform law, the Affordable Care Act.
Champaign County Health Care Consumers needs you to contact your
Representative TODAY to stop the disastrous Ryan Budget Plan!

****

BACKGROUND

Since 2010, Rep. Paul Ryan has continuously attacked Medicare, Medicaid,
and Social Security with threats to drastically cut these vital social
programs through privatization and reductions in benefits.  His 2012 budget
plan to cut Medicare through a privatized "voucher" system passed the House
of Representatives last spring but was successfully blocked by the Senate
because seniors and health care advocates like yourself stood up against
this draconian plan for Medicare.

On March 20, 2012, Rep. Ryan, the chair of the House Budget Committee,
released his budget proposal for 2013, which once again makes deep, lasting
cuts to Medicare and Medicaid as well as a full repeal of the Affordable
Care Act.  This plan would not only impact millions of people's health
insurance coverage and reverse all of the progress the Affordable Care Act
has made the last two years and will continue to make through 2014, but
also dismantle a Medicare program that has been one of the most successful
government programs for over 40 years.

The Ryan Budget Plan passed out of the House Budget Committee on
Wednesday, March 21. The Ryan Budget Plan will be up for a vote by the full
House of Representatives sometime this week.

See below how you can take action to protect Medicare, Medicaid, and the
Affordable Care Act from being destroyed by the Ryan Budget Plan. If you
need more information on the Ryan Budget Plan, see the section at the end
of this message, following the TAKE ACTION section.

****

TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND THE ACA!

We have learned that the Ryan Budget Plan could come up for a vote as
early as Thursday of this week, so your member of Congress needs to hear
from you today!

Contact your Representative and ask him or her to vote against the Ryan
Budget Plan and protect Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act.

For those of you living in Champaign County, you can call Rep. Tim
Johnson:

217-403-4690 -- Champaign Office
202-225-2371 -- DC Office

If you are in another Congressional district, you can find your
Representative's contact information by visiting http://www.votesmart.org
or calling 1-866-251-4044.

The Ryan Budget Plan is a huge step backwards. It would end decades of
progress we have made toward giving our nation's seniors, children, and
low-income families some level of health care security. And by repealing
the Affordable Care Act, it would take away the promise of health care
security for middle-class families.

****

THE RYAN BUDGET PLAN

The 2013 Ryan Budget would end Medicare as we know it.  His plan would
replace Medicare's guaranteed benefits with a "premium support" payment
that beneficiaries would use towards the cost of either a private insurance
plan or traditional Medicare starting in 2023.

The Ryan plan would also raise the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67
beginning in 2023 for people born in 1958 or later.  This would
significantly increase the out-of-pocket health care costs for nearly 1
million individuals between ages 65 and 66 by forcing them to purchase
private health insurance.

In addition to major cuts to Medicare, the Ryan Budget Plan would
establish capped, block-grants for Medicaid, shifting costs onto already
cash-strapped states by forcing them to provide additional funding or cut
Medicaid benefits as costs increase.   States like Illinois that struggle
year after year to fully fund Medicaid would be forced to further reduce
coverage, restrict eligibility and increase costs to enrollees, resulting
in reduced access to care.

Finally, the 2013 Ryan Budget would fully repeal the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act, reversing all of the law's benefits and
protections that have made a difference by drastically improving access to
higher-quality care, addressing rising health care costs, and protecting
consumers.  While the health reform law's provisions will not be fully
implemented until 2014, millions of consumers can now get the health
insurance coverage they need thanks to the Affordable Care Act.  By
repealing the ACA, Rep. Ryan is supporting going back to a time when:

 * A child with a pre-existing condition can be denied health insurance
coverage.
 * A person who receives a diagnosis, for example, being diagnosed with
cancer, can have their insurance coverage terminated.
 * A person with a chronic illness having a lifetime cap on what their
insurance will cover and being left to cover 100% of their health care
costs, after they have reached their cap.
 * A small business having their health insurance premiums raised
significantly, possibly  preventing the business from continuing to provide
insurance, due to one or more employees  being ill.

****

Thank you.

Champaign County Health Care Consumers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Champaign County Health Care Consumers
44 E. Main Street  Suite 208
Champaign, IL 61820

Phone: (217) 352-6533
Fax:   (217) 352-9745
E-mail: cchcc at healthcareconsumers.org
Web:    www.healthcareconsumers.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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http://www.healthcareconsumers.org/index.php?action=Donation
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