Democrats are starting to feel the heat. Okay, they’ve felt this way for a long time — almost an eternity as far as getting a health reform bill passed is concerned. But the urgency is upon the party to think about financing that reform, especially if some anemic form of public option makes its way through to final legislation.

Republicans have capitalized on the effort of the Democrats to save costs by creating the buzz that Medicare, the nation’s largest public option with regard to healthcare coverage, is under danger and could fundamentally disappear as they know it. According to the GOP, the government entitlement program for healthcare consumers is under the cost-cutting knife with President Obama salivating at the chance to slash spending to keep it solvent.

Of course, this scenario is a rather fantastic notion — as are many of the fallacies which have worked their way into the national consciousness of the healthcare reform debate (remember healthcare townhalls?), but it is the sole  PR issue the Dems want to swing to their advantage. With polls showing that the 65-and-over demographic as having the most negative perception of Obama’s health reform plans, the party is looking to the AARP to change the tide of negativity by framing reform as a mandate to ensure continued and improved healthcare access for senior citizens. And, although the organization staunchly defends its nonpartisanism, some of its core ideals run squarely counter to Republican talking points on the issue of healthcare reform — namely eliminating Medicare’s gaps in paying for seniors’ preventive care. | LINK

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