January 30, 2013
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Page 5
Raising Medicare Age Would Hurt Seniors
Merkley, others
call proposal a
‘death sentence’
B y C ari H achmann
T he P ortland O bserver
U .S .S en . J e ff M erkley, D -O re.,
told a group o f seniors and oth er
listeners at the M ulticultural S enior
C en ter on N ortheast M artin L uth er
K ing B oulevard that he w ould o p
pose any proposal m ade to C o n
gress and the O bam a ad m inistra
tion that raise the age o f M edicare.
A proposal to increase M edicare
eligibility from age 65 to 67 w as
discussed during the recent fiscal
c lif f d e b a te a n d so m e o u ts id e
groups and m em bers o f C ongress
are m aking sim ilar proposals.
“T his is unacceptable. T his hurts
o u r seniors,” M erkley said during
the Jan. 18 forum .
In addition to the health risks o f
m ore seniors going uninsured w hile
w aiting for eligibility, a higher eligi
bility age w ould also increase out-
of-pocket m edical costs fo r m any
seniors, placing them at a signifi
cant financial risk.
M erkley, w ho previously w orked
as a Portland law m ak er in the state
L e g isla tu re to ex p an d access to
healthcare and m ake it m ore afford
able, said raising the M edicare age
w ould be “a death sentence” fo r
som e aging adults.
O pening the forum to seniors to
share their stories, m any o f w hom
w ere dealing w ith health problem s
p r io r to a g e 6 5 , P e g g y B re y ,
M ultnom ah C ounty’s aging and dis
ability services director, called those
backing higher eligibility rules, “out
o f touch w ith challenges o f everyday
citizens.”
A nn Sortie, 66, o f southeast P ort
land shared h er story.
i/c
O z»,
i i
n
photo BY
.
C ari H achmann /T he P ortland O bserver
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., visits the Multicultural Senior Center on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to express his
oppos'hon to any proposal in Congress that would raise the age of Medicare. The Urban League of Portland’s Bonnie Jones (center)
and southeast Portland senior Ann Sortie (right) also spoke against Medicare cuts.
'
“B efore I got onto M ed icare I
w as w ith o u t health insurance fo r
three y ears and c o u ld n ’t afford to
get the m edication I need ed ,” said
Sortie, w h o is now a current M ed i
care beneficiary
“I w as ju s t hanging on to reach
65 and I can ’ t im agine w here I w ould
be today if I h ad to w ait m ore years
to get the care I n eed ed ,” she said.
T hings started going dow nhill
w hen Sorlie lost h e r consulting jo b
in 2008 w hen the eco n o m y tanked.
She stru g g led to find a com pany
that w ould em ploy som eone h er age.
Burning through unem ploym ent
checks, she described how difficult it
w as to pay for m edication, house
THE LAW OFFICES OF
bills, and even her pet ’ s food. W orse,
the following year, a car accident left
h er w ith a knee injury that w ould
require surgery and a limp that m ade
finding em ploym ent even m ore in
conceivable.
E ven w hile em ployed, Sorlie did
not hav e m edical insurance. She
w as required to w ait until she turned
65 to get M edicare.
“It w as an em otional and stress
ful tim e,” said the w idow o f m ore
than 30 years.
B onny Jones, a case m anager for
the U rb an L eague o f Portland, says
a lot o f p eople “start falling apart at
60.”
T h e financial difficulties in p ay
ing m edical bills are com m on for
m any o f h er clients, she said, a m a
jo rity o f w hom have an average in
com e o f $800 to $900 a m onth.
T hey say, “I d o n ’t know w hether
to buy m y fo o d o r buy m y m edica
tion— and it ju s t breaks m y heart,”
she said.
Jo n e s sh a re s the sto ry o f one
c lie n t, a b lin d w o m an w ho h a d no
m o n e y fo r h e r in su lin tre a tm e n ts.
W a itin g to g et c o v e ra g e u n d e r
th e O re g o n H e a lth P la n , a lo tte ry
sy ste m , she s a id h e r c lie n t w as
sic k fo r y e a rs b e fo re she fin a lly
tu rn e d 65 a n d q u a lifie d fo r M e d i
care.
Sadly, th e next m onth she h ad a
heart attack. In a m onth follow ing,
the w om an had several m ore heart
attacks and died.
“T o m ake people wait. T o m ake
it 67 o r 70— th a t’s crazy ,” Jones
said.
M erkley ended the discussion
by offering alternative solutions to
m ake the health care system m ore
affordable.
H e su g g ested in v estin g m ore
heavily in preventative services at
local health clinics, shutting dow n
in su ran ce plans that overcharge,
and vigorously targeting fraud.
“T h ere is trem endous am ount w e
can do,” h e said. “A ge is not the
w ay to go.”
U p h o ls te ry C le a n in g • S o fa /L o v e s e a t • P et S ta in s • F lo o d R e s to ra tio n s
Patrick John Sweeney, PC.
Patrick John Sweeney
Attorney at Law
1549 SE Ladd
Portland, Oregon
Portland:
Hillsoboro:
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(503) 244-2080
(503) 244-2081
(503) 244-2084
Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com
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