Nitty-gritty on healthcare reform: Fear and favors
One of the key groups in the middle of the healthcare debate is the elderly, who fear Medicare is a target of cuts. Obama has pledged to protect Medicare benefit levels, but plans call for limiting the rate of growth of the program. That may curtail some choices for seniors. There is also the issue of end-of-life planning, which some conservatives have dubbed “death panels” and argue would ration care. None of the bills calls for such groups.
There also have been questions about whether veterans’ health benefits would change. Obama has insisted they wouldn’t and pledged to revamp the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide better service.
Opponents have charged that illegal immigrants would get healthcare. Obama and Democrats note that none of the existing bills would extend care to undocumented workers.
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