Protect traditional Medicare plans from Project 2025 proposals

We must preserve this public good and protect it from Project 2025 regarding Medicare. This platform intends to line the pockets of private insurers at the expense of patient care putting profits over people,

This proposal by the far right Heritage Foundation would make “privatized Medicare” the default option for new beneficiaries with automatic enrollment, without your consent and eliminating your choice for traditional Medicare.

If implemented, this costly plan would speed up Medicare’s insolvency to six years sooner (2030) than currently projected.

Medicare Advantage plans receive 122 percent more funding than traditional Medicare for covering similar beneficiaries, costing an additional $83 billion in 2024 alone.

More than 24 million enrolled in Advantage plans would face limited provider networks with 70 percent of area doctors unavailable through these plans. 15 million people would be under-insured due to reduced benefits in many of these plans.

Our seniors value Medicare. My close family member’s first eight years of cancer treatment was covered primarily by Medicare. We are fortunate. Even though necessary, “out of pocket” costs were high for a supplemental plan and a pharmacy discount plan for chemotherapy, Medicare as a primary payor saved us from going broke!

Demand that Congress reject Project 2025. Traditional Medicare must be preserved and Congress must take action to fortify it; take back the billions of wasted dollars on Medicare Advantage overpayments.

Lee Gresko

Mountlake Terrace

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 10: A Seattle Sonics fan holds a sign before the Rain City Showcase in a preseason NBA game between the LA Clippers and the Utah Jazz at Climate Pledge Arena on October 10, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Editorial: Seahawks’ win whets appetite for Sonics’ return

A Super Bowl win leaves sports fans hungering for more, especially the return of a storied NBA franchise.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, Feb. 11

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

toon
Editorial cartoons for Tuesday, Feb. 10

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Burke: Whistle while we work to preserve democracy

Prepare for the work of patriots with a whistle and a new ‘Manual for Keeping Democracy.’

Comment: Congress must place more controls on Insurrection Act

Calling on troops for law enforcement needs better guardrails than are now in place.

Comment: Severe winter storms aren’t refuting climate crisis

Global warming makes weather patterns more chaotic, leading to damaging winter storms as well as heat.

Trump: On immigration, Trump had right policy but still failed

His polling on the issue is underwater because of poor implementation and dismissive rhetoric.

Comment: No, tax refunds won’t fuel a ‘non-inflationary’ boom

Income tax cuts benefit high-earners the most. And most refunds will go to debt or savings.

A Sabey Corporation data center in East Wenatchee, Wash., on Nov. 3, 2024. The rural region is changing fast as electricians from around the country plug the tech industry’s new, giant data centers into its ample power supply. (Jovelle Tamayo/The New York Times)
Editorial: Protect utililty ratepayers as data centers ramp up

State lawmakers should move ahead with guardrails for electricity and water use by the ‘cloud’ and AI.

Advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities rallied on the state capitol steps on Jan. 17. The group asked for rate increases for support staff and more funding for affordable housing. (Laurel Demkovich/Washington State Standard)
Editorial: Limit redundant reviews of those providing care

If lawmakers can’t boost funding for supported living, they can cut red tape that costs time.

FILE — Federal agents arrest a protester during an active immigration enforcement operation in a Minneapolis neighborhood, Jan. 13, 2026. The chief federal judge in Minnesota excoriated Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday, Jan. 28, saying it had violated nearly 100 court orders stemming from its aggressive crackdown in the state and had disobeyed more judicial directives in January alone than “some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.” (David Guttenfelder/The New York Times)
Editorial: Ban on face masks assures police accountability

Concerns for officer safety can be addressed with investigation of threats and charges for assaults.

Don’t relax your vigilance of abuses by ICE, Trump administration

I have been afraid to write my opinion about what is happening… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.