To the editor:

My Medicare statement came today. I receive a biological infusion for rheumatoid arthritis. It is administered in a hospital. For my infusion, the hospital billed Medicare over $6,000. Medicare paid a bit over $2,000.

As part of the Medicare legislation, hospitals must accept Medicare, and Medicare sets what it will pay for various procedures. The difference in this case is $4,000. That’s how much Medicare saved.

Now Mr. Ryan wants to change Medicare to a voucher system. Each Medicare recipient would get a voucher to spend for health insurance. If medical expenses exceed what the insurance company will pay, health care will come out of your pocket. After you have sold your home in order to get medical treatment, you can live on the streets and die. Tough luck, folks.?

Do you suppose insurance companies will negotiate lower medical costs on our behalf? Medicare Part D, which covers (supposedly) prescription drugs, is in the hands of insurance companies, and they, for certain, are not negotiating lower drug prices on our behalf. There’s no reason to suppose that insurance companies that take over Medicare Part A and Part B will do so. If Part D were administered by the federal government, drug prices would come down dramatically, as they have in Canada and other countries.?

I believe that Medicare Parts A and B, as they are presently constituted are the only force against skyrocketing health care costs. If we don’t resist Mr. Ryan’s plan, the death rate is going to rise. Few of us will be able to afford health care.