Post by Admin Tyler on Dec 7, 2005 17:59:22 GMT -5
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
Associated Press
Vice President Edgar Oswald, seen above, visited St. Louis this weekend to calm the panic that has arisen over the proposed elimination of Medicare. Visiting three area nursing homes, the Vice President listened to concerned citizens and their fears regarding the new budget policy. Oswald is touring the country as the President's point man in Warder's effort to stem the nation's out-of-control health care budget. However, many Seniors across the country are in an uproar over intense concerns that they'll be left without an income source.
"It's outrageous," said Jean Margaret Simms, a former school teacher. "How am I going to make ends meet? I don't understand why the President would do something like this."
"It's all over the news, we're going to lose the one source of income we have to sustain ourselves," commented Dwight Abernathy, a retired Alton firefighter.
The Vice President attempted to calm Seniors fears by reassuring them that they would still be covered by Medicaid and other federal non-Medicare health funding sources. He cited that under the President's new budget, expeditures for these programs would increase by almost 50%. In addition, he guaranteed that Seniors would have more choices for affordable healthcare with a variety of health care plans. Private companies would step up to the plate to fill gaps thanks to tax incentives and other big ticket promises.
"Something definately needs to be done to stop our massive budget crisis and Medicare reform is one initiative that the President pushing really hard for. Something has to be done, and we're certainly not seeing a lot of suggestions from across the aisle," commented Oswald to reporters.
Seniors have received the Vice President with mixed trepidation, however. Polls show the Vice President's approval rating at nearly 5 to 10 percentage points below the President, often shouldering the brunt of the administrations massive reform agenda.