Older Americans & Seniors
Democrats are steadfast advocates for America’s seniors, their peace of mind, and the issues they care about— including retirement security, Medicare, and the high cost of prescription drugs. While Democrats strongly support Social Security and Medicare and oppose efforts to privatize them, President Trump and Congressional Republicans are proposing to drain the Medicare Trust Fund and undermine Social Security.
For years, Democrats have worked to ensure the strength and long-term solvency of those vital programs, so that they can support not just today’s seniors, but the generations to come. Democrats improved and modernized the Social Security program by investing in technology to enable the Social Security Administration to more efficiently process the increasing number of retirees and claims, and by improving the speed and quality of services for retirees. Last Congress, Democrats in Congress helped reauthorize the Older Americans Act, which provides help to seniors including funding vital programs like Meals on Wheels.
Democrats also consistently fight to strengthen the Medicare program and help ensure that seniors can see their doctors. The Affordable Care Act extended the fiscal solvency of the Medicare program, while improving Medicare benefits, nursing home care, and chronic disease coverage, and reining in waste, fraud, and abuse. The law also lowers prescription drug costs for seniors by offering discounts of up to 50 percent on prescriptions for those in the Part D coverage gap, and closing the coverage hole completely over the next several years.
In contrast, President Trump and Republicans in Congress supported legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with a plan that would discriminate against older Americans, forcing millions off of their coverage and drastically increasing health care costs for millions more. TrumpCare also cut Medicaid by $800 billion, jeopardizing access to long-term care for seniors in nursing homes, as well as home- and community-based health care services.
Democrats’ priorities stand in stark contrast to the Republican budget that makes the wrong choices and attempts to balance the budget on the backs of seniors. We are committed to protecting and strengthening programs that assist seniors and support a balanced approach to deficit reduction that will strengthen the solvency of our entitlements and protect America’s seniors.
Related
Year end reports.
A Comprehensive guide to the Democrats stance on the Medicare Conference report.
The congressional year ends with the future of President Bush's vaunted energy bill uncertain and no decision on how to fix the nation's crumbling highways or avoid a looming trade war with Europe. With Republicans in control of the White House and both houses of Congress, it wasn't supposed to be this hard.
It took intensive lobbying by President Bush and House Republican leaders, combined with the longest floor vote on record, to pull off House passage early Saturday morning of the most significant Medicare overhaul in the program's 38-year history.
House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) released the following statement at a rally with other Members of Congress and seniors in opposition to the Republican prescription drug bill that the president signed into law today:
Just before dawn today, House Republicans stole a 'victory' on the Medicare Conference Report, and it came at the expense of America's seniors...
WASHINGTON, D.C. –House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) released the following statement in response to President Bush’s speech on Medicare this afternoon in Orlando, Florida...
WASHINGTON D.C. – House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) today joined members of the American Nurses Association at a press conference in voicing opposition to the Republican Medicare bill, which undermines the protections Medicare provides for America’s seniors, leaves a glaring gap in coverage, and could result in higher drug prices for the elderly.
WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement after President Bush’s statements today on Medicare and the progress of a prescription drug benefit bill in Congress.
Seeking to score late-round political points as Republicans struggle to find an exit strategy, Congressional Democrats are mounting a four-week offensive to bring attention to what they say is the failure of President Bush and the GOP to address key domestic concerns.