Mrs. Obama: Health Overhaul Will Help Older Women

CHRISTINE SIMMONS

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama sought to assure older women on Friday that efforts to overhaul health care won't undercut the benefits they receive through Medicare, saying her husband considers the government-run program a "sacred part of America's social safety net."

Mrs. Obama, championing the health care effort at the White House while her husband travels through Asia, said women are among those struggling the most under the current system and would benefit from health care overhaul.

She said there's been "a lot of misinformation" and she wanted to be clear that the legislation in Congress would make Medicare more stable by eliminating wasteful subsidies to private insurance and cracking down on fraud.

"My husband believes that Medicare is a sacred part of America's social safety net and it's a safety net that he will protect — he will protect — with health insurance reform," said Mrs. Obama, a former hospital executive. "America has a responsibility to give all seniors the golden years they deserve."

To pay for part of the overhaul, the House bill would cut more than $400 billion from Medicare and Medicaid over 10 years. Democrats argue that the cuts can be made, especially to the Medicare Advantage program that lets private insurers contract with Medicare to provide coverage. Republicans counter that seniors would be hurt by the cuts, and Congress' nonpartisan budget analyst told a Senate panel that benefits could indeed be reduced.