Letter to the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the US House of Representatvies - Support for Bipartisan Budget Agreement After Leading the Successful Effort to Protect Millions of Seniors from Drastic Medicare Increase

Letter

Dear Speaker Boehner,

As you know, unless Congress takes action, millions of Americans will see their Medicare Part B premiums skyrocket early next year. We are deeply concerned about the impact of those increases in the Medicare program on our seniors, and urge you to allow Congress to take action immediately to prevent those increases from occurring. It is the clear responsibility of the Republican Majority to act on this issue immediately and bring relief to our nation's seniors.

The nature of this potential rate increase is particularly troubling for the extraordinary impact it would have on beneficiaries. For millions of Americans it could mean a staggering premium increase of more than 50 percent. The impact of such a change would be devastating. Too many seniors already face difficult decisions every month -- forced to choose between paying for medication, or groceries, or a heating bill. Congress should be helping those seniors, not burdening them with more impossible decisions.

The leadership you and Leader Pelosi displayed on the SGR issue was a model of bipartisan compromise that addressed a problem that was a significant risk to the long-term stability of Medicare. We appreciate that, and America's seniors' health care options are more secure as a result. Now, as Congress looks ahead at another deadline that could have a detrimental impact on seniors' health care, we ask that you work with us to prevent these rate increases from occurring. We stand ready to work with members of both sides of the aisle to ensure that American seniors are not forced to pay the price of Congressional inaction.

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