Martin Hoke: “Medicare has been a success, helping to provide health care to millions of Americans who otherwise could not afford it.…”

“Medicare has been a success, helping to provide health care to millions of Americans who otherwise could not afford it. Yet today, with Medicare facing a financial crisis, Democrats are playing politics instead of coming up with constructive solutions. As the architects of Medicare, we have a responsibility to shore up the program before it collapses. He goes on to say that: Members of both parties should work together on this important issue, just as Republicans joined Democrats in voting for Medicare in 1965. Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in Congress have decided otherwise, choosing to attack Republican Medicare plans rather than offering an alternative. By politicizing the issue, Democrats are threatening the viability of the very program they created. What I would say, on top of that, is that not only is it bad policy what is being done here in terms of the Democrats attack, it is also bad politics. It is not going to work.”