Health & Fitness
BALKEMA URGES PROTECTION FOR SENIORS AFTER DEMOCRATS’ CUTS TO MEDICARE VIA OBAMACARE
February 24, 2014 | Joliet, IL –11th Congressional GOP candidate Chris Balkema today proposed protections for constituents on Medicare Advantage as seniors in his district are already bracing for resulting cuts in plans, benefits and doctors.
“Billions of Medicare Advantage dollars are being siphoned away from seniors to pay for Obamacare. Bill Foster and all of the Democrats in Congress approved this measure in Obamacare. I will go to Congress and repeal this monstrosity and replace it with free market measures and protections,” said Balkema.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which many regard as non-partisan, Obamacare will cut Medicare Advantage by $156-billion over the next 10 years. While every Democrat in Congress voted for it, not one Republican did.
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“The Democrats’ stubborn support for Obamacare has robbed seniors of their current coverage. Bill Foster continues to support Obamacare. Meanwhile, seniors in our district will soon open their mailboxes only to find they won’t be able to keep their plan as promised,” said Balkema.
Seniors on Medicare Advantage are experiencing what the non-partisan fact checker, PolitiFact, dubbed as their “Lie of the Year”: when President Obama promised that “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it.”
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) on Friday provided advance notice to insurers about proposed cuts in Medicare Advantage payments in 2015 as part of President Obama’s health care law (also known as the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare).
Medicare Advantage is a program that offers privately administered insurance options to Medicare beneficiaries. About 15 million Americans are covered through a Medicare Advantage program.
Balkema is seeking to fight for those seniors in the 11th Congressional District that includes Aurora, Bolingbrook, Burr Ridge, Downers Grove, Joliet, Lisle, Lockport, Naperville, New Lenox, Oswego, Plainfield, Romeoville, Shorewood.
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Chris Balkema is a 20 year veteran of Caterpillar, serves on the Grundy County Board, and previously served the Minooka County School Board District 111. Chris earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Systems from Taylor University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Bradley University. He is married to Jill, his wife of 15 years. They have two small children.
www.balkema.org / Facebook: BalkemaForcongress / Twitter: @chrisbalkema
