An activist group is sounding off again about the Medicare reforms under discussion in the U-S Senate. Betty Ahrens is the co-executive director of the Iowa Citizens Action Network. Ahrens says they’re targeting Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who is on the committee that’s working on the issue. She says the changes will “really end Medicare as we know it.” She says they’ll privatize a Medicare plan that has worked for many years. She says it’ll turn the plan over to insurance companies who’ll be guaranteed a profit, and Medicare will be left as the last option for the sickest seniors. Ahrens says the proposals won’t help one of the biggest problems — the high cost of prescription drugs. She says the proposals will actually prevent Medicare from negotiating for the best drug prices and seniors will continue to have to pay about 75-percent of their drug costs. Ahrens says they’re delivering 300 letters to Grassley’s Des Moines office speaking out against the changes.
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