Mike McIntyre joins in the misinformation campaign

Rep. McIntyre is not only openly opposing health reform, he is misleading his constituents about the contents of the House legislation.

He claims, falsely, that Medicare benefits will be cut. He claims, falsely, that the bill will expand health care services to illegal immigrants.

Many excellent letters to the editor noted that nearly everything coming out of McIntyre’s mouth about health reform is wrong. Here’s just one example:

To the Editor,

I’m an AARP key legislative contact. Over the years, I’ve grown to trust AARP. So when special interest groups started trying to scare me and other seniors with horrible things that would supposedly happen to my Medicare if health care reform passed, it touched a nerve.

People need to hear the good things that will happen when we pass real reform. For people in Medicare, health care reform will close the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole,” protect your choice of doctor, keep your premiums fair, hold down your health care and prescription drug costs, eliminate waste, fraud and abuse, and improve the care you receive. None of the health care reform proposals being considered by Congress would cut Medicare benefits or increase your out-of-pocket costs for Medicare services.

As you can see, those who say that health care reform will hurt Medicare are just plain wrong. If we do nothing, more and more people would fall into the doughnut hole, fewer doctors will treat Medicare patients and the wasteful spending would continue to threaten the financial security of the program. Don’t be fooled by these scare tactics.

Throughout this debate, AARP pledges to help you find the facts about what health care reform means for you and your families. To get the facts about health reform, and learn about the latest myths and scare tactics, go to HealthActionNow.org.

Frances M. Cummings
Lumberton

If McIntyre doesn’t care about the 8,600 seniors in his district who hit the Medicare Part D “donut hole” or the 127,000 uninsured constituents in his district, that’s fine. But that doesn’t mean he should lie about the legislation.