AARP Endorses Health Care Bill
|  Video
|
| Anne Kelly |
| 11/5/2009 |
.jpg) |
| Two days before what some are calling a historic House vote, the AARP has endorsed the Democratic health care reform bill. The support of the 40-million member organization is expected to give a boost to the bill...also helping Democrats and other major health groups. The AARP says the health care bill before the House meets the needs of the public, and it`s not alone. Health care is a sore subject for Reverend Carter Dary. His wife of 45 years has stage four cancer, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, and diabetes, and paying for her health bills have forced the two to sell their home and vehicle. "I`m not trying to elicit the sympathy of anybody today," says Rev. Dary. "She has no health insurance, even if we were able to pay for that insurance nobody would take us." And the Dary`s are too young to qualify for Medicare. It`s a problem for as many as 13,000 North Dakotans who fall between the ages of 50 and 64. They`re too young to get Medicare, and too sick to get private health insurance. But the AARP says there`s finally a health care reform bill on the table that will solve that problem, the Democratic bill before the House. The AARP endorsed the bill today. Janis Cheney says the bill would not only prevent insurance companies from denying people coverage because of pre existing conditions and limit how much companies can charge out of pocket, it also protects Medicare. "The package completely closes the dangerous gap in prescription coverage known and the donut hole, it adds cost free preventative benefits, like cancer screenings, cracks down on waste and fraud and protects the traditional Medicare benefits people in the program rely on," says Cheney. The AARP`s endorsement comes the same day as the American Medical Associations and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Networks. Republicans say the bill poses a threat to American`s freedom, and involves a government takeover of our healthcare system. Reverend Cary says, through the words of a verse in Matthew, without some type of reform now, he is being failed. "As you fail to do it for these, the least of my brothers or sisters, you fail to do it for me," he says. The House is expected to vote on the Bill in two days. In the meantime, Capitol Hill has been flooded by Republican protestors opposing passage. |
© KMOT-TV
Home | News | Weather | Sports | Webcast | Morning News | Programming | Primetime Rewind | Advertising & Sales | About Us
Community Connection | Movies | Contests & Promotions | Search | Links | Contact Us | Site Map | Follow us on: Facebook
Sister Stations: KFYR TV in Bismarck, KUMV in Williston, KQCD in Dickinson
