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OWENS CELEBRATES  4OTH BIRTHDAY  OF MEDICARE WITH BROOKLYN SENIORS

August 4, 2005 - Brooklyn, NY- Congressman Major Owens joins the nationwide celebration of Medicare’s 40^th Birthday today (August 4) by praising President Lyndon Johnson for signing into law one of America’s greatest social and health policy achievements and pledging to keep the Democrats promise to strengthen the program.  

“The Republican White House has not doing enough to protect the best health care system in the world.  In the 40 years since Medicare has been enacted we should have had the judgment to do what’s right to help our senior citizens and disabled beneficiaries maintain the health care that President Johnson envisioned when he signed Medicare into law in 1965,” Congressman Owens said.

“With the aging of America, we cannot continue to auction the lives of Americans to insurance and drug companies. We need to amend the new Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 by strengthening Medicare, giving seniors the most progressive prescription drug benefit program, and promoting universal Healthcare for all Americans,” Owens said.

Owens celebrated Medicare’s Birthday by listening to seniors from the Brooklyn-wide Interagency Council, the Institute of Hispanic & Puerto Rican Elderly, NYS Nurses Association, the Medicare Rights Center, and the METRO Healthcare for all Campaign.

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