HELENA, Mont. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Jon Tester is assuring seniors that health care reform plans brewing in Congress will help reduce their costs.
Tester spoke to AARP members Wednesday on a statewide conference call.
Tester took questions from seniors worried about Medicare costs that keep going up at a rate they can't afford on fixed retiree incomes.
The Democratic senator says that Medicare is on fragile ground because the overall health care system is not sustainable.
He says reform efforts will rein in overall costs, which will help Medicare.
In Washington D.C., Democrats are working out their own differences on such issues as whether to include an option that allows people to buy into a government insurance plan if they choose.
Tester has yet to commit to such a specific plan.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
