Seniors responding to a new poll said they are significantly concerned about the potential impact to their health coverage if the federal deficit reduction plan includes changes to Medicare benefits.
In the survey conducted by Harris Interactive for RetireSafe and National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP), 81 percent of people 65 and older who have Medicare coverage said that having to pay any more for Medicare benefits in the future would cause either a heavy or serious financial burden on them, causing them to make tough sacrifices.
"As Congress considers legislation on the debt ceiling, these concerns of seniors should factor into what they decide on the future of Medicare," said Robert B. Blancato, NANASP's executive director in a press release announcing the poll results. "It is not shared sacrifice when seniors are forced to choose between maintaining their health and gambling with it by not doing regular doctor visits or getting required tests."
[See also: Obama, GOP at odds over Medicare's future; Controlling the Medicare Budget - Two Infeasible Proposals]
Respondents who said paying more for Medicare coverage would be a serious or heavy burden noted that in order to afford the higher costs they would likely cut back on other medical services.
Fifty-nine percent said they would go to the doctor less; 58 percent would postpone medical procedures or tests; 37 percent would ration medications; 20 percent would not get prescriptions filled; 18 percent would consider returning to work to cover additional costs; and 12 percent would discontinue Part D coverage.
In all, nearly 4-in-5 Medicare recipients (79 percent) reported they would not support changing Medicare coverage in order to reduce the federal budget deficit.
"It is evident from this survey that most older Americans don't want to use Medicare resources to reduce the federal budget, which is not surprising given that eight out of 10 tell us that forcing them to pay more for their Medicare benefits would put a serious burden on them," says Thair Phillips, president of RetireSafe in a press release.
"As the factions in Washington wheel and deal to arrive at a solution to the nation's budget woes, they need to understand that our nation's vulnerable older Americans are the group least able to bear the weight of righting the wrongs of Congress's decades of financial mismanagement," said Phillips.