Issue Position: Social Security and Medicare

Issue Position

"It is our duty to ensure that our seniors have a retirement they can count on, and the quality, accessible healthcare they need"

Protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare are among Congressman Boswell's highest priorities. Boswell believes we need to preserve these programs for future generations and has stood up against risky privatization schemes to ensure that the promise of Social Security is not abandoned. With a growing elderly population in Iowa, it is increasingly important that Social Security and Medicare continue to provide Iowans the security they deserve. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare has recognized Boswell for his leadership by giving him a 100 percent score for the 110th Congress.

Congressman Boswell supports repeal of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which hurt some public employees by reducing Social Security benefits that employees or their spouses have earned. Repealing the GPO and WEP would ensure that public employees can keep the Social Security benefits they have rightfully earned.

Medicare was created in 1965 to protect seniors at a time when a startling amount of seniors did not have access to healthcare. Medicare reversed this trend by providing seniors access to reliable healthcare and we must ensure that Medicare continues to fill this important role. Boswell supports important changes to Medicare that will help keep seniors healthier and improve the quality of care, such as increasing coverage of preventative screenings and benefits, implementing electronic health records, and providing incentives for quality delivery of care. Boswell has voted to improve benefits for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, reduce overpayments to private Medicare Advantage plans, and continue successful incentive programs for rural healthcare providers.

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