It's wiser to get blood pressure meds before you have a stroke or heart attack, wouldn't you say?
That goes for detecting diabetes and other ailments that affect seniors.
Do we simply tell them to go to hell or do enable a healthier lifestyle.
It's in our own best interest ultimately, and it's the right thing to do.
I have nothing but praise for this president.
And yes, spending on bridges to no where and subsidizing Sam Donaldson's sheep farm, come to mind.
The country made a decision more than forty years ago that we are not going to let senior citizens die because they are priced out of the private insurance market when they approach retirement. I dont recall the conservatives offering any alternative 40 years ago other than they should have saved their money and they should have gotten themselves a job that gave them health care after retirement. Given the changes that have occured in medicine over the last 40 years and the fact that drug therapies are much more important in controlling and curing disease, it makes sense to spend a little on this portion to help keep down the cost of regular Medicare. If spending a little on drugs will keep seniors out of the hospital, there are massive savings for the Medicare Program.
For those that scream about Medicare Drug Benefits and budget deficits, I wonder if they would be so quick to give up their crop support payments, Pel grants and govt sponsored education loans, national parks, mortgage tax deductions, and tax deductible IRAs and HSAs. I also have never heard of any conservative seniors refusing to sign up for Medicare when they are 65, assuming they didnt have someone else paying their health bills.