Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

Forty seven years ago, on July 30, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed MediCare into law.  Even before that law made it to his desk, Republicans tried to tear it down, screaming of communism, socialized medicine, and government takeover, just as they have done with the Affordable Care Act.

Governor Mitt Romney endorses Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget plan which will repeal the Affordable Care Act, known to some as “Obama care”, as well as MediCal, and Medicare as we know it. Romney and Ryan want to destroy a program that serves 50 million seniors, and saves them $4 billion dollars a year in prescription drug costs. Romney’s replacement plan will turn MediCare into a voucher program, raise the eligibility age to 67, require seniors to pay $6,400 per year out of pocket, and end coverage for persons with pre-existing conditions.  If Romney wins, he will shift the cost for medical coverage back onto seniors and their families, just like it was prior to the signing of the MediCare law of 1965.

 Every senior citizen, no matter what their political party affiliation, should pay attention to this, as should every younger family member who will have to figure out how they will pay for grandma’s health care bills if Mitt Romney becomes president.

Stephen Breacain

Manteca

July 30, 2012