Preeminent Seniors Advocacy Group Endorses Grayson Bill to Expand Medicare

grayson.house.gov

Preeminent Seniors Advocacy Group Endorses Grayson Bill to Expand Medicare

Congressman Grayson introduced the bill to celebrate the 50th anniversary of President Johnson’s establishment of Medicare and Medicaid. The bill currently has 80 cosponsors.

David Damron

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) has endorsed Congressman Alan Grayson’s (D-FL09) bill, the Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act, which will expand Medicare’s coverage to include exams, treatments, and medical devices for eyes, ears, and teeth, which are currently excluded. Congressman Grayson introduced the bill in the House of Representatives on July 29.
via Representative Alan Grayson.

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ncpssm.org

What ACA Repeal Means for Seniors

Seniors have probably been the most demagogued group when it comes to what the ACA actually means to their health care.

Medicare beneficiaries will save, on average, $5,000 over the next ten years thanks to health care reform provisions. Here are just a few of the real-life benefits millions of seniors in Medicare would lose immediately if Republicans have their way and repeal the Affordable Care Act.

via NCPSSM.

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While this has a clear meaning to policy wonks, it is likely that most viewers won’t immediately know that “entitlements” means the Social Security and Medicare their parents receive. It’s a lot easier for politicians to talk about cutting wasteful “entitlements” than taking away seniors’ Social Security and Medicare.

Dean Baker via Truth Out.

Overnight Health Care: Paul Ryan to exit without entitlement reform

Nathaniel Weixel, Peter Sullivan, Jessie Hellman

Medicare advocates celebrated Ryan’s announcement, noting that he will leave Congress without accomplishing his lifelong goal of reforming Medicare.
“House Speaker Paul Ryan’s retirement from Congress lifts a very dark cloud that has hung over older Americans for nearly two decades,” Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare said in a statement.
“During that time, Speaker Ryan has been the Privatizer-in-Chief on Capitol Hill – advocating to turn Medicare into a voucher program and to gamble retirees’ Social Security benefits on the whims of Wall Street.”
via The Hill.

Related Reading:

Farewell to Paul Ryan and His Insidious
“Entitlement Reforms.”

As America’s Privatizer-in-Chief, he spearheaded attempts to turn Medicare into a voucher program and to gamble retirees’ Social Security benefits on the whims of Wall Street.
He passed legislation in the House to cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid by imposing per capita caps and turning it into a block grant program.

Source: bit.ly politics social security medicare paul ryan speaker ryan GOP republicans congress entitlements entitlement reform retirement retirees retirement crisis seniors elderly older americans healthcare health care earned benefits social insurance p2

When a candidate promises to “save these programs for future generations” by raising the retirement age, raising the Medicare eligibility age, privatizing Social Security, changing the COLA formula and means-testing Social Security while exempting near retirees what they’re actually saying is: “We know seniors vote so we’ll protect them now and slash future benefits for their children and grandchildren instead.

via Entitled to Know.

Source: ncpssm.org social security politics entitlements p2 seniors retirement retirees retirement crisis entitlement reform elderly COLA means testing medicare health care retirement age

But I feel from all the budgets that I’ve passed, normalizing entitlement reform, pushing the cause of entitlement reform and the house passing entitlement reform, I’m very proud of that fact. But yeah, of course more work needs to be done, and it really is entitlements. That’s where the work needs to be done, and I’m going to keep fighting for that.

Speaker Paul Ryan via Politico.

Related Reading:

Seniors Relieved as America’s Privatizer-In-Chief Heads for the Exits.

House Speaker Paul Ryan’s retirement from Congress lifts a very dark cloud that has hung over older Americans for nearly two decades. During that time, Speaker Ryan has been the Privatizer-in-Chief on Capitol Hill – advocating to turn Medicare into a voucher program and to gamble retirees’ Social Security benefits on the whims of Wall Street.

Source: bit.ly politics entitlements paul ryan speaker ryan earned benefits entitlement reform older americans elderly retirement retirees retirement crisis social insurance social security medicare medicaid healthcare health care p2

“Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, has come a long way since its creation in 1965 when nearly half of all seniors were uninsured. Now the program covers 55 million people, providing insurance to one in six... — Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, has come a long way since its creation in 1965 when nearly half of all seniors were uninsured. Now the program covers 55 million people, providing insurance to one in six Americans. With that in mind, Medicare faces a host of challenges in the decades to come. Here’s a look at some of them.
via Kaiser Health News.
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Silence Isn’t Golden: The Case for Expanding Medicare.
The Case for Expanding Medicare.
*Hearing Loss: The Economic, Social and Medical Factors Impacting Healthy Aging.*

Source: huff.to medicare politics health care seniors elderly p2 older americans NextFifty retirement retirees retirement crisis republicans democrats progressives entitlements entitlement reform

It’s no surprise that conservatives applaud this legislation [doc fix] as ‘the first real entitlement reform in two decades’ because it fulfills their political goal of shifting costs to seniors, cutting benefits and expanding means-testing to push Medicare further and further away from being the earned benefit seniors have long valued and depended on.

via NCPSSM.

Source: ncpssm.org medicare doc fix politics seniors elderly health care entitlements entitlement reform p2

“But at the end of the day…we’ve got to have entitlement reform and that is why we keep pushing for our health care reform and that’s why we keep pushing for entitlement reform.” - Speaker Paul Ryan

This is no surprise to us. Speaker Ryan has been trying for years to cut earned benefit programs.

We have been keeping track of Congress’ actions on earned benefits and health care.

Click here to view our Congressional timeline.

paul ryan politics social security medicare medicaid health care healthcare seniors older americans elderly retirement retirees retirement crisis entitlements entitlement reform earned benefits social insurance speaker ryan congress GOP republicans p2

“House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday said House Republicans will aim to cut spending on Medicare, Medicaid and welfare programs next year as a way to trim the federal deficit.
“We’re going to have to get back next year at entitlement... — House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday said House Republicans will aim to cut spending on Medicare, Medicaid and welfare programs next year as a way to trim the federal deficit.
“We’re going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit,” Ryan said during an interview on Ross Kaminsky’s talk radio show.
Health-care entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid “are the big drivers of debt,” Ryan said, “so we spend more time on the health-care entitlements, because that’s really where the problem lies, fiscally speaking.“
via The Hill.
**Related Reading:**
After Passing Senate Tax Bill, GOP to Target Seniors’ Earned Benefits.
As if to confirm the warnings of seniors’ advocates, Republicans have signaled that their next targets after the tax bill are Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) admitted as much in an interview with Politico last week, declaring that spending cuts in earned benefits programs will be necessary to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and multinational corporations.
National Committee President, House Dems Decry GOP Tax Plan’s "Dire” Impact on Seniors.
The tax bill will trigger an immediate $25 billion cut to Medicare unless Congress quickly waives the PAYGO provision of federal budget law.
Both Medicare and Medicaid – which helps seniors afford long-term care – are targeted for deep cuts in the GOP budget plan.

Source: bit.ly politics social security medicare medicaid earned benefits GOP republicans congress social insurance p2 older americans health care healthcare seniors paul ryan marco rubio entitlements entitlement reform

Seniors went to Capitol Hill earlier this month to tell Congress why their current #SocialSecurity benefits are inadequate. Boost Social Security Now! https://www.ncpssm.org/campaigns/boost-social-security-now/ @RepJohnLarson

Boost Social Security Now - NCPSSM

The National Committee’s Boost Social Security Now campaign informs and mobilizes our community to convince Congress that now is the time to

NCPSSM

NCPSSM — Preeminent Seniors Advocacy Group Endorses Grayson...

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