Editor: The Herald:

The enormous Federal healthcare bill supported by Tom Perriello and signed into law, will be paid for largely by cuts to services for the elderly. Here are a few examples identified by John Fleming, M.D. (Republican member of Congress from Louisiana):

In 2010-

• Medicare will cut reimbursements to inpatient psychiatric care.

In 2011-

• Medicare cuts to home health agencies begin.

• Wealthiest seniors begin paying higher Part D payments.

• Medicare cuts begin for ambulance services.

• Seniors are prohibited from purchasing power wheelchairs unless they first rent for 13 months.

• New Medicare cuts to long-term care hospitals begin.

• New Medicare cuts to hospitals and cuts to nursing homes begin (FY12)

• Medicare Advantage cuts begin.

In 2012-

• Medicare reimbursements for dialysis treatments are cut.

• Medicare cuts to hospitals begin.

This massive, government behemoth was not thoroughly thought through by its backers, many of whom did not read the bill before voting for it. All thinking citizens should demand that it be repealed in favor of making needed adjustments to our current health care program which is more personal, less costly, less complex, and less biased against the elderly.

Filmer Hevener

Farmville