Hare talks health care reform with seniors

Greg Wilburn, 58, is a school bus driver; his wife Linda, 57, is a part-time cashier at Bergner's. They're semi-retired and pay $500 a month for their health insurance, which has an annual deductible of $5,100.

That's $11,200 they must pay out of pocket, every year, before their insurance even kicks in.

"What good is an insurance policy, when they have these outrageous premiums and there's no incentive for them to lower the premiums?" Greg Wilburn said. "All they're going to do is continue gouging us -- $11,200 is a lot of money to me and a lot of people in this country ... The health insurance industry is gouging the American people big time."

A passionate Wilburn shared his concerns with U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Rock Island, who met with constituents Friday at the Whiteside County Senior Center to discuss health care reform, Social Security and Medicare.

Hare supports a public option for health insurance coverage, which he says is meant to create competition and lower insurance premiums.

"We have the best doctors, we have the best hospitals, we have the best nurses and the best equipment," Hare said. "It's access to all of those and affordability for all of those" that's the issue.

If the public option creates competition, Wilburn said, he might support it. "I don't have a lot of faith in the federal government keeping all these promises they tell us. They tell us this and that, but when it comes to getting these programs in and they don't fulfill their promise."

A public option is in the House version of the federal health care reform bill. Hare said he hopes President Barack Obama will sign a bill around Thanksgiving.

Hare also said he supports closing the Medicare Part D "doughnut hole," a provision that coverage to seniors who pay between $2,700 and $6,100 a year for prescriptions.

Hare said he has heard horror stories of seniors needing to cut pills or capsules in half to stretch how long they have the medication. "That has to stop."

Among the questions asked was whether anything was being done to help encourage more people to become primary care physicians.

Hare said there would be provisions for loan forgiveness, which would encourage people to go into medical school or become nurses.

"We felt it was investment and we absolutely had to do something about this," Hare said. "It wouldn't do any good if we're trying to insure more people, but they don't have any access to a physician."

Hare voted for a bill that would pay $150 to seniors on Social Security in lieu of a cost-of-living adjustment, and would freeze Medicare Part B premiums, which helps pay for physician and outpatient care. The bill has passed the House but is still in the Senate.

"The current recession has been particularly tough on seniors, many of who live on fixed incomes," Hare said. "Asking them to bear even more of a burden is simply unconscionable."