Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security

Nearly since the birth of Social Security and Medicare, these two successful programs have been under constant attack.   I remember so clearly in 2005 fighting against President Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security and gamble seniors’ benefits in the stock market.  Imagine what would have happened if seniors’ benefits had been in the stock market during the 2008 financial crisis. Instead of learning from that experience, today our vital American programs are again under attack.

As Congress continues to debate how to best bring our debt under control, I refuse to support plans like the new Republican proposal which break the social promise of Medicare we have with our seniors.  

The most recent Republican budget makes radical and harmful cuts to Medicare and Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations that ship jobs overseas. I fought a similar Republican proposal to privatize Social Security in 2005, and I pledge to all of my constituents to fight against this new attack on our seniors as well. I voted against this budget on March 29, 2012.

See my column on the Republican budget 

The new Republican budget turns Medicare into a voucher system, ending the guaranteed benefits our seniors have earned.  Today, Medicare now directly pays most of the healthcare bills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans, even if they are very sick.  But if this proposal goes through, seniors will be forced to buy healthcare on the private market, leaving seniors at the mercy of insurance companies—just like they were 50 years ago before Medicare.

Especially after paying into the system their entire working lives, seniors should not be forced into a hostile insurance market with only a voucher that amounts to nothing more than a discount coupon and a get well card.

If the Medicare changes aren’t disturbing enough, the new budget takes on Medicaid which covers services other programs don’t cover, like nursing home care.  Of the 700,000 Kentuckians on Medicaid, the plan would force nearly half of Kentuckians off the program.  This budget could slash health benefits in Kentucky by up to $24.7 billion over ten years, shortchange our seniors, and shift the cost burden to our state which is facing its own budget issues. Governor Beshear even spoke out against the new budget, saying that it could potentially force the Commonwealth to slash healthcare benefits or raise taxes.

Right now, these changes in the budget only affect people who are currently under the age of 55.  But this budget will eliminate Medicare as we know it, and it has already passed the House of Representatives.

Just like when President Bush wanted to gamble away seniors’ Social Security benefits before the financial crash, certain people in Congress are trying to do the same thing with Medicare.   They are building America’s house on the sand. This budget is not a solution to our fiscal problems.  It does not put our country on solid footing.  All it does is put our nation’s debt on the backs of our seniors.

Yes, we absolutely must make reasonable cuts to get our fiscal house in order.  But we can’t just destroy Medicare to do it.  Everyone who cares about the long-term health of these programs needs to come to the table to start talking about a bipartisan, moderate solution that fixes the cost issues, but also ensures that our seniors continue to receive the benefits they have earned.

Despite what you are hearing in the news, there are people in Washington committed to protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.  I fought to protect Social Security in 2005, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect these programs in the future.

Although some are seeking the destruction of these programs, I will protect them to the best of my ability. As a moderate, I will continue to work to find common ground between the two parties and to come to a solution for a budget that benefits Kentuckians and helps bring our deficit back under control, while also protecting the long-term health of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
 
While the 2006 Medicare prescription drug law has been an important new benefit for our seniors, regrettably the law was written in a way specifically preventing the Medicare program from negotiating with the drug companies for lower prices. Like you, I believe that Congress needs to take steps to reform Medicare so that we can preserve it for future generations.

There are some who believe Social Security should be entrusted to Wall Street, I am not one of them. Imagine what would have happened if seniors had their Social Security benefits in the stock market during the 2008 crash.  53 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, including more than 90% of America’s seniors.  Social Security has its problems, but privatization isn’t the solution and removing money from the trust fund isn’t the solution. We have to get a bipartisan group of people together who want to see the program survive and find a long-term answer. I protected the program once from privatization in 2005, and I’ll do it as many times as it takes.

Do you need help with your benefits? Call our district office at (859) 219-1366