Target the root of Medicare problem

Jerry Johnson, Las Vegas

Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013 | 2 a.m.

Some in Washington would rather cut Medicare benefits than solve the real issue driving the rising cost of Medicare, which is the skyrocketing cost of health care.

This is like a doctor only treating symptoms of an illness instead of the root cause. It is very troubling that some members of Congress would raise the eligibility age or propose other cuts in benefits rather than address the inflated costs, waste and lack of coordinated care in fee-for-service medicine.

Medicare is an earned benefit. We pay into it our entire working lives, and we continue to pay premiums, co-pays and deductibles toward our care.

If Congress took meaningful action to control systemwide health care costs and built on the savings gained through health care reform, the nation’s finances and Medicare stability could prevail.