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Sept. 7, 2009 I realize that many of you will never see a single Social Security check, even though you paid dearly for the right to some kind of compensation. I also realize that Medicare will most likely not be available to many of you in your twilight years. Having said this, those of us who do get Social Security checks and who depend on the Medicare funds that keep us alive and healthy are about to entire a new world of hurt. It has been reported that we will not get any cost of living raises for the next two years and that our Medicare payments will be raised at the same time. This means that we will get less money than we are currently receiving. This means a terrible hardship because none of us are getting much to begin with and are forced to get supplementary insurance to cover the medical costs that aren't covered by Medicare. How difficult will this be...? Well, I am struggling to decide between food and medications from month too month. There are times when we eat lots of noodles rather than healthy foods because every other month my husband's Alzheimer's meds cost approximately $1,000. That doesn't take into account the 12 other medications that he takes on a regular monthly basis. Is it worth it, you might ask? Yes, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease over 8 years ago and I firmly believe that because he is taking the two best medicines available, he hasn't progressed from having mild to moderate Alzheimer's to full blown Alzheimer's which would render him helpless and in a vegetative state. Fortunately, the diagnosis came early in his disease process and he has been on this medication for the entire time. Unfortunately, the drug companies who hold the patents to these drugs will not release them so that generics can be made available to the public, thus, the extremely high cost. What seems like a nice steady income is really a mere stipend and not enough to cover normal bills such as mortgage payments, utilities and other necessities of life. I have had to charge my brains out to afford both food and medications and as a result, we are over the limit and out of luck. Every insurance supplement plan puts limits on how much you can use towards drugs and my husband has reached his limits even though it is only September and the new year is three months away. That means three months of spending thousands of dollars out of pocket.....thousands of dollars that I do not have. It means sacrifices that I have to make that are ridiculous...like eating. This is not being written to get your pity, it is being written as a warning to all of you who currently supplement our current fixed income and who hope to be covered someday. It is a warning to let you know that something must be done to remedy this situation for those of us who are now collecting Social Security and those of you who probably never will. The President's health plan really doesn't take into account a true solution to the problems that people like my husband and I are facing and it certainly won't assure that many of you will be protected when you reach your so-called golden years. It's more like leaden years....years of fear and uncertainty as to whether or not you will eat or stay healthy. My suggestion is that you read the literature available on the plans that Congress wants to implement and you make yourself knowledgeable as to whether it will benefit you, harm you or do absolutely nothing to help you. We know that the Congress never reads anything over a couple of pages long and since most of the bills that they pass are hundreds or even thousands of pages long, it is our duty to keep them honest and make sure that they are not selling us down the river. It is up to us to take care of our own futures and to stop them from ruining what should be the best time of our lives. Retirement used to be considered a wonderful achievement, where relaxation, trips to long desired vacation spots happen and happy times ensue knowing that we don't have to work anymore. That is far from the truth for most of us and more like a purgatory where we don't know from one day to the next how we will survive or if we will survive. Don't allow the government to put you in a bind. Don't let them convince you that just because we elected them they are wise and knowing as to how to protect our futures. They don't. They do what they do based on how many votes they can garner in the next election and on how many special interest groups they can pander too. Those groups don't always have the public's best interest in mind and often use the Congress selfishly to further their own causes and line their own pockets. This is nothing new and will not stop without the public becoming more vigilant and outspoken. Bridges to nowhere do not put food on our tables or medication in our medicine cabinets. They do not make our lives easier and they do not protect us from the vultures who prey on a willing Congress all too eager to take whatever they can get to feather their own nests. Read, think and vote accordingly when you have the chance. It is still a country "Of the people, by the people and for the people" and we must exercise our right to keep it that way. Take it from one who has lived long enough to know the difference and learned that only I can control my own destiny by speaking loud and clear. It can't be only one soft voice...it must be millions of voices who can be heard and will make a difference.
Be vigilant........it's your future. Don't make it as bleak as mine has become.
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