Republican Medicare Plan

* Please, folks, don’t be snookered by those Medi-Scare opponents of the Republican desire to “cut” federal spending on Medicare programs. The Medicare system is currently spending about $5,000 per beneficiary and the current inflation rate is about 3% (actually 2.6% in the last 12 months). The current federal budget assumes that Medicare costs would increase to $8,800 per beneficiary in 2002, about a 10.9% annual growth. The Republican plan would adjust future budgets so that Medicare costs would increase by 2002 to $7,000 per beneficiary, permitting a 5.7% annual growth rate.

Do you feel it is unreasonable to restrict the growth of future Medicare costs per person to just double the current inflation rate? Do you feel that the medical industry in general will diminish services to the growing pool of patients subject to Medicare just because its wealth isn’t increasing as much as it thought it would? Do you feel that future Congresses will fail to make adjustments if any real problems with “lost benefits” occur?

MELVIN A. WOLF JR.

Burbank

* Re “Gingrich: Today’s Medicare Will ‘Wither,’ ” Oct. 26:

Call me naive, but I did believe our representatives’ claims that deep cuts in Medicare were needed to preserve the program for our children and grandchildren. However, House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s words that sooner or later the traditional Medicare system “will wither on the vine,” and Sen. Bob Dole’s statement that he was there “fighting the fight, voting against Medicare” have rid of me of my erroneous perception.

It would appear that the cuts as well as the means testing are not to preserve the system for further generations but to phase it out for ideological reasons.

I. McLEES

Irvine

* I was totally disgusted to read that Gingrich and friends think the changes in Medicare will save all this money because senior citizens will voluntarily join HMOs and managed care plans. Who are they kidding? Their plan will make it so expensive for most senior citizens to stay in fee-for-service plans that they will have no choice but to change.

As a former nurse and a person with a chronic illness, I feel it is very important to be able to choose one’s own doctor and specialist and to be able to go to a specialist without going through a gatekeeper. I have heard many horror stories about HMOs and managed care plans. It is unfair and mean-spirited of the Republicans to try to force many senior citizens into these plans.

LOIS YUNG

Downey

* This ridiculous Medicare flap has both political parties submitting plans to greatly increase spending on it in coming years (contrary to reports, neither party is proposing to cut it). I believe the entire Medicare program is a bad thing. Just because I and my fellow seniors have managed to live beyond the age of 65, why should we be entitled to have our medical bills paid for the rest of our lives, any more than we should have our housing, food and clothing bills paid? One shouldn’t retire until one has saved enough money to retire on. Except for unforeseeable disasters, anything else is stealing. Additionally it is obvious that Medicare funds, as with all government welfare funds, are at least 75% wasted because of truly massive carelessness, fraud and mismanagement.

The correct solution would be to cancel Medicare. But 30 million greedy handout-happy seniors plus vote-buying politicians won’t let that happen. So the best possible immediate solution is the Republican Medicare-increase plan, only because it is a bit smaller and thus less harmful to our country than is the Democratic plan.

JOHN HAMAKER

Laguna Niguel

* Having been a practicing physician for over 50 years (now retired), I have some ideas regarding Medicare. Half my career was spent as a fee-for-service solo practitioner, and the other half in the premier HMO, Kaiser-Permanente.

There are untold millions to be obtained by better policing the billing practices of various health care providers. The abuses are an open secret to anyone in the medical field. Hospitals, nursing homes, home care service providers and yes, physicians, skim huge sums of money from the “Medicare grab bag,” by their billing practices.

Also, fee-for-service encourages excessive use of laboratory and other procedures, beyond any perceived need. Organizations like Kaiser-Permanente are pristine in comparison. The AMA came right in line after the cuts in physician reimbursements were eased. Medicare reform may very well be needed, but clean up the operation first.

SIDNEY REIFF MD

Los Angeles