As a member of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, I understand that Medicare is a top concern for our seniors and health providers in Kansas. I constantly hear from seniors and their families how frustrating navigating the maze of the Medicare program can be. I couldn’t agree more.
I also frequently hear from Medicare providers who say that shrinking Medicare reimbursements are hurting their ability to continue to care for seniors. This is clearly a problem we need to fix. This is why I am working to protect and strengthen the Medicare program. The Medicare Trustees say, absent reform, Medicare will be insolvent in 2029. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), insolvency comes even sooner, by 2025. That is something we must all work together to avoid. Our federal health care entitlements are on an unsustainable fiscal path and risk diverting funding away from other critical government functions. We must enact basic, structural changes to mandatory spending programs like this that will strengthen and preserve these programs for future generations, while protecting current participants.
Since 2007, I have been the co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Rural Health Caucus. During that time, I have been working with my colleagues to find ways to improve and strengthen the Medicare program, particularly in our rural areas. I have always said that folks in rural communities deserve the same access to care and level of treatment as their urban counterparts. One of our main objectives in the Senate Rural Health Caucus is to propose legislation to address comprehensive rural health care issues by improving Medicare payments for hospitals, doctors, home health providers and ambulance providers. We also promote educational activities about the unique challenges we face in rural America.
I am also looking at ways to improve benefits and keep costs affordable for seniors in the Medicare program. I look forward to the advice and counsel of all Kansans on how best to achieve these important goals. All of these efforts will ensure seniors continue to have access to quality health care, but will not be shouldered with burdensome health care costs.
