Napa Valley Register - Thompson talks senior issues in 1st Congressional District'

North Coast residents hit the phone lines in droves Wednesday night, with thousands participating in Rep. Mike Thompson's telephone town hall meeting on senior issues.

In all, more than 16,000 residents from Thompson's 1st Congressional District dropped in on his phone forum, said Caroline Hogan, Thompson's communications director.

For much of the nearly hour-and-a-half call, the focus of the conversation mirrored national headlines, including the ongoing fight over health care and the future of the Medicare program.

Under the current debate, care for seniors will be guided by either reforms included in last year's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or changes to the Medicare system present in the budget proposal drafted by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., Thompson said.

The health care legislation enacted last year is still being phased in and might need revision, but the reform act is heads above what is being proposed by Republicans, he said.

“When these new programs that are part of this bill come on line, the ones that work, they'll be expanded, and the one that's don't work, they'll be jettisoned,” Thompson said. “That's a very, very stark contrast with what the majority plan â€" the Ryan plan â€" does by just destroying Medicare.”

Ryan's proposal would essentially privatize the Medicare system, allowing program recipients to selected coverage from a list of plans and have a government subsidy check sent directly to the insurance company.

The shift would mean Medicare would become entirely based on private insurance providers, as opposed to the government-provided coverage currently offered to the nation's seniors.

Since the release of Ryan's plan, Thompson and other Democrats have labeled the proposal a “voucher” system, noting that allowances could easily fall short of covering the cost of care.

Ryan has rejected the voucher label, calling the proposal a “premium support” method that sends money directly to the insurance company rather than the individual.

Thompson said that Ryan's proposal would force Medicare beneficiaries to pay more for the same level of care, noting that the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the plan would roughly double the cost of senior health care by 2022.

The proposal would also reverse many of the changes present under the Democrat's reform legislation, he said, including steps to close the so-called “donut hole” in prescription drug coverage.

Under Medicare Part D, a coverage gap exists between the upper limit of “initial coverage” and the beginning point of “catastrophic coverage.” Beneficiaries whose costs fall in this gap must pay their medication expenses out-of-pocket.

The health care reform legislation enacted last year would slowly close this funding gap through the issuance of rebate checks, Thompson said, noting that the entire “donut hole” should be closed by 2020.

Social Security was also a major talking point during Wednesday's forum.

While some revisions need to be made, the state of Social Security is no where near as dire as some of the program's critics make it out to be, Thompson said.

“I'm not one that believes Social Security is bankrupt or getting ready to go over the cliff,” he said. “Right now, if nothing were done, it would pay 100 percent of benefits until 2037. Then, if you still did nothing, it would pay 75 percent of benefits. So, really, you're talking about after 2037, having a 25-percent problem. I think that's a pretty easy one to fix.”

Both programs â€" Medicare and Social Security â€" will require some level of attention from Congress, Thompson said, while pledging to protect both as best he can.

“These programs have helped generations of seniors take charge of their health care and their lives, and I'm committed to keeping them strong for future generations,” he said.