Congratulations to Congressman Pat Ryan for signing what is known as the "Jaypal letter," signed by others in Congress who are concerned about flaws in the Medicare Advantage system and the threat of Medicare privatization. With his signature Ryan added his name, rightly, to a "progressive" cause and took a political risk. The risk? Watch the GOP now attack Ryan and other Democrats as "enemies" of Medicare, trying to "destroy" people's options.

Not so. But the Republican strategy requires some complicated parsing to get to the truth.

Medicare Advantage (MA), made up of private insurance plans, is NOT — repeat, NOT — traditional Medicare, the system run by the government and funded by tax dollars. The very name of Medicare Advantage is deceptive.

Ryan and others are not trying to take away people's choice to buy MA plans. But they do want the government to address the tens of billions of dollars in fraud and abuse that are documented every year.

The structuring of MA in the health care system directs additional billions of dollars away from traditional Medicare to insurance companies, thereby weakening our shared health care social safety net and its ability to deliver quality care to Americans.

Check the profits of the big MA insurance companies. They're doing fine. What about the consumers who buy those plans? Some are satisfied with their coverage and the costs, especially if they are healthy and use offered perks. But when a major health crisis hits, others find that cramped networks narrow their choices of providers and require prior authorization (often denied), and they are faced with high deductibles, co-pays, and co-insurance.

Finally, Congress is paying attention to the creeping shift toward privatization of our health care. Our representatives must require the big insurance companies to offer Americans quality, affordable health care, not juicy profits for shareholders.

Tom Denton

New Paltz