Washington, D.C.- Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released the following open letter to Medicare:
"Congratulations Medicare! You are 35 years old today.  Although you remain a vital program for our nation’s seniors, you need to be retooled and rejuvenated, like many approaching middle age.  The healthcare world around you has changed… but you have not.

While 95 percent of all employer-sponsored health plans cover prescription drugs with low cost-sharing requirements, you do not.  Private plans have covered important medical procedures such as yearly mammograms and prostate screenings since the 1980s, but it took an act of Congress in 1997 so that you could provide coverage for these important and life saving diagnostic tools.

Many physicians and other healthcare providers are finding it difficult if not impossible to comply with your 110,000 pages of rules, regulations, guidelines and related paperwork.  Many doctors are refusing to take new Medicare patients as a result.

You improperly paid more than $12 billion over the past year.  It’s time to check into the nearest fitness center, where you can pick up gifts that will transform you into a modern benefit for the 21st Century program.

• Change your shape so that you will work like the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP), the healthcare plan that covers 9 million federal employees and their dependents, Congress and the president.
• Add some muscle by providing drug coverage through a government-approved, comprehensive private health plan.
• Expand your coverage for preventive care and new technologies so that our seniors will have up-to-date and high-quality healthcare.
• Streamline and update your regulations while at the same time reducing waste, fraud and abuse.
• Improve your management to provide better care for seniors.
• Fix your finances by becoming solvent and saving yourself for future generations.

In 2030, you will be responsible for 77 million Americans.  This is no time to put off improvements in your life.  President Bush is on the right track to rejuvenate you.  The Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare pointed the way to the future.  Now it is up to Congress to modernize you, to put seniors in charge of their health insurance, to increase quality and choice and put you on the right road to fiscal solvency.  Happy Birthday and may you have many more!"

CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government.