Georgia’s Voters’ Guide
1998

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Social Security

First, we should agree to reserve the federal budget surplus to protect the Social Security Trust Fund. Then, the President and Congress should establish a National Commission on Social Security Reform, similar to the bipartisan panel that saved the program back in 1983.

Any changes to the Social Security system should be announced several decades before they are implemented, so as to allow individuals to plan for their retirements.  Therefore, I oppose cutting the benefits or reducing cost-of-living adjustments for any current retirees.  I am also opposed to raising taxes on retirees.  Since the purpose of Social Security is security, I would oppose replacing the current Social Security system with individual private accounts; such a risky scheme would leave retirees vulnerable to swings in the stock and bond market, such as 1987's "Black Monday" or the 1929 crash.

Medicare

We should expand access to Medicare for Americans age 55 and older who do not have employer-sponsored health insurance.  Allowing these individuals to purchase Medicare coverage would not impose any additional financial burdens on the system, and it could mean proper medical care for many of those who are currently at greatest risk.

I oppose increasing the premiums, deductibles or coinsurance of any Medicare beneficiaries.  Prescription drug and expanded home care coverage should be considered, if we can pay for these added benefits by cutting costs elsewhere.  I support a defined package of benefits for all Medicare beneficiaries that include hospital stays for mastectomies, and reconstructive surgery for breast cancer patients.

We should step up prosecution of Medicare fraud, which costs the system at least $10 billion a year.  The government should better monitor nursing homes, to ensure they provide space for Medicare recipients, and uphold health and safety regulations.

Managed Care

I support a managed care bill of rights to protect all customers, including those covered by self-insured employer plans.  The bill should include the right to choose your own doctor, and the right to sue your insurance company or HMO for medical malpractice.

HMOs and other health plans should be required to pay for emergency care in any situation that a "prudent lay person" would regard as an emergency.

Patients who believe they are too sick to go home from the hospital should be able to challenge an HMO's decision to discharge them.  Such patients should have the right to remain in the hospital, at no cost to themselves, until their cases have been reviewed by an impartial arbiter.

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