Letters to my Congressman

    RE: TAKE BACK MEDICARE MEETING, Feb 20, 2004

Dear Ms Diehm,

Thanks for taking the time to meet with us last Friday.

Our members found the discussion informative. I am enclosing my minutes of the meeting, which has been reviewed and posted to my website (http://www.walterbattaglia.com/calxsoft/cesjournal).

The Administration is spending millions on advertising the new law. I have seen these ads, which are obviously intended to comfort Medicare recipients fearful of change. The ads do not, however, present or explain the changes. A Wall St Journal/Harris poll released today shows opposition to the new law has decreased, probably as a result of the advertising. Nonetheless, most Medicare recipients are very worried about this "Medicare reform."

How the recent "Medicare Reform" legislation affects recipients is poorly understood. For example, it is not clear how the "discount cards" to be issued in June, 2004 will work, and whether they will undermine other discount programs. We do not know how the changes will affect those who already have individual or group coverage under a health care plan, or supplemental Medicare insurance ("part B").

We believe your office should develop and circulate a booklet which does explain the Medicare program changes factually. The thing rarely heard lately is the facts of Medicare. We think public meetings on Medicare would be an important way to determine just what people need to know about the new law.

As we discovered in our meeting, there are cases which were not previously considered. The only way we can find those who would otherwise "slip through the cracks," is in public meetings and wider, public discourse. There are about 40 million Medicare recipients in the United States; maybe some 92,000 in the 1^st CD. In a meeting of just 10 people, we found at least 1, maybe 2, problems requiring research. There could be thousands of people in this Congressional District alone who will have a problem with "Medicare reform." We think public meetings will be very helpful in identifying problematic cases before this becomes a crisis.

We believe another, larger meeting on Medicare would be in the public interest. I checked with the Napa Library to learn that a few Saturdays are available in April and May, and several weekdays in March.

Our aim is twofold: (1) to alleviate problems caused by this legislation and (2) to change the legislation which causes the problems. We look forward to working with you on this important matter.

Yours truly,

Walter L. Battaglia

    RE: "PRIVATE PAY" RATES; SEN MACHADO

Dear Ms Diehm,

I am enclosing a copy of the letter I received from Sen Machado. [unavailable online]

I had written the Senator, by e-mail, concerning the plight of the uninsured, such as myself, who are forced to pay "private pay" rates for medical care and prescriptions. These rates are much higher than the contract rates provided under health insurance, and further reduce the ability of the uninsured to obtain medical care.

My suggestion was this: the State should find a way to negotiate on behalf of the uninsured to set "contract" rates for them. The State already does this for MediCal recipients, and Medicare sets rates for service providers.

The State could do this in at least three ways: (1) by issuing "discount" cards to uninsured individuals on payment of a fee, (2) issuing MediCal cards to uninsured people with no State liability and (3) by simply passing laws which set maximum private pay rates.

The "discount card" program would charge a fee to cover the expense of negotiations and administration, and would otherwise operate like an insurance program. The difference would be the patient would be committed to a co-pay equal to the negotiated "contract" rate; the State would not pay the cost of goods or services received.

The MediCal no-liability plan is essentially the same thing.

I cannot understand why it is so difficult to accomplish anything in medical care. I have worked on these problems for 35 years or more, and admit I’m becoming impatient about solutions.

There are things the Federal and State governments could do, that would cost the public little. I hope your office will see fit to work on some of those things.

Yours truly,

Walter L. Battaglia

Last update: 11/13/2007

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