To the editor:
U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan states that he prefers Medicare to be left alone and legislators look elsewhere for deficit reduction.
This proves to me that he has his head in the sand.
The baby boomer generation spans 1946 through 1964. Medicare became law June 30, 1965. Babies born in 1946 become eligible for Medicare this year. The life expectancy in the United States in 1964 was 70.46 years and in 2009 it was 78.1 years.
Private health care now helps pay for the low payments by the government for Medicare patients. Based on the above, the current Medicare program as we know it is unsustainable.
Now add to the mix the unknowns introduced by “Obamacare” — and you know they did not figure this one right — Carnahan needs to do something more than burying his head in the sand.
James F. Schaper
Oakville
