Pallone: Republican Budget Plan Threatens Medicare, Breaks Promise to America's Seniors

Press Release

Congressman Frank Pallone Thursday met with Bayshore seniors to discuss the threat to Medicare and Medicaid from a Republican budget that ends Medicare as we know it by privatizing it and converting it into a voucher program. The plan would also slash Medicaid, which could make nursing homes unaffordable for many seniors. The Republican budget plan would terminate the retirement guarantee of Medicare coverage for all Americans.

"Under the Republican plan, Seniors who have worked hard all their lives will no longer have the security of knowing they'll have health care when they need it," said Pallone. "These cuts are a budget buster for seniors and will force them to pay more to get significantly less care."

Vouchers would double out-of-pocket costs for seniors. Today, the typical 65-year-old currently spends approximately $6,150 in health care spending. The Republican plan would push it to an estimated $12,500. It would also re-open the prescription drug donut hole, costing seniors who "hit the donut hole" an extra $600, all according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

"The historic record of success of Medicare and Medicaid should be respected and preserved, not dismantled," added Pallone.

Medicaid covers nearly half of all U.S. long-term care -- including nursing homes as well as the home- and community-based supports that many seniors and disabled individuals need and want as an alternative to expensive institutional care. Converting Medicaid into a block grant program slashes funding, making it more difficult for seniors and the disabled to afford nursing home care.

"The Republican budget changes to Medicare and Medicaid are unfair to the middle class, seniors and children and the wrong choice for American families," Pallone noted. "The goal of reducing the deficit is a good one but it should be done smartly. And it shouldn't be done on the backs of seniors."

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