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
Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) strode into the Richard R. Clark Senior Center in La Plata on Monday and told a room full of seniors that if they were hoping for a good prescription drug law from Congress, they were pretty much out of luck.
House Democrats today announced they would hold a "national day of prescription drug town hall meetings" in Democratic districts across the country Saturday to oppose the Republican approach to a Medicare benefit and to promote what they say is a more generous Democratic alternative...
In an attempt to regain an issue they fear the GOP has snatched away, House Democrats will fan out across the country later this month and host a series of town hall meetings to tell voters why they remain the party to trust on prescription drug reform...
WASHINGTON – Today marks 38 years since President Lyndon B. Johnson fulfilled his promise to seniors and signed the landmark bill that established the Medicare program. In recognition of this anniversary, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) released the following statement this afternoon and vowed to keep the Democrats’ promise to strengthen the program by adding a prescription drug benefit under Medicare that seniors can count on...
Statement by Whip Hoyer, as well as many articles from around the country.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the House and Senate Republican Medicare bills, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) released the following statement...
Jack Duane, 78, of Denver is worried. He suspects his medical insurance provider is trying to dump him from his policy...
EAST HARTFORD -- After listening to experts discuss the horrors of Congress' proposed changes to Medicare for two hours Saturday, 80-year-old Charles Casinghino had heard enough...
WASHINGTON – House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) released the following statement at the Kick Off for Democrats’ National Day of Prescription Drug Town Hall Meetings (Saturday, July 19th), on which over 70 members in 27 states will hold town hall meetings with seniors in their districts...
RALEIGH -- North Carolina's Democratic congressional delegation has joined other lawmakers in attacking legislation that would add prescription drug coverage to Medicare...