Issue Position: Supporting Arizona Seniors

Issue Position

Arizona seniors from across Congressional District 9 have told Congresswoman Sinema how, after a lifetime of hard work, Social Security allows them to retire with dignity. She will continue to fight for Arizona seniors and families by protecting Social Security and Medicare, even if that means taking on Washington and the President.
During the budget debate in early April, she fought to protect Medicare and Social Security.
In a letter to budget negotiators, she requested the "conference to reject policy reforms that place Medicare and Social Security benefits on the chopping block." Kyrsten believes that we can reduce the debt while promoting economic growth, avoiding an additional tax burden on middle-class families, and protecting those most in need. Medicare and Social Security are earned benefits that Arizonans have paid for and deserve, and we should not balance our budget on the backs of those who depend on them.
Recognizing her work to protect Medicare for Arizona seniors, Kyrsten recently received the "Medicare Leadership Award" from the Healthcare Leadership Council as well as a special recognition from the Coalition for Medicare Choice on her bipartisan work to protect Medicare Advantage .
Protecting Your Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)
Congresswoman Sinema's work to protect Social Security has succeeded -- President Obama has dropped cuts to chained CPI from his 2015 budget proposal.
Last year, she sent a letter to the President urging the exclusion of Chained Consumer Priced Index (Chained CPI) from future budget proposals, and she repeated these calls throughout the recent budget negotiations. The Administration changed its position and accepted her common-sense request to keep Social Security strong.
Stopping Medicare from Being Turned Into a Voucher System

Recently, Congresswoman Sinema voted against the budget plan introduced by Congressman Paul Ryan. She opposes his budget for many reasons. The first is that partisan budgets are not what America needs. We need to work together in a bipartisan way, and Kyrsten is working with other members of Congress to do just that.
She also opposed this budget because it would end our current Medicare system and turn it into a private voucher system. Congresswoman Sinema opposes turning Medicare into a voucher system because she thinks our current
Medicare system works fairly well and so many seniors rely on it for their care.
Opposing a Dangerous Change to Medicare Part D
Congresswoman Sinema also opposed a dangerous change to Medicare Part D that would have increased drug costs for Arizona seniors. The proposal would have jeopardized beneficiary access to lower-premium drug plans. That means these plans are still available for Arizona seniors.
Stopped Cuts to Medicare Advantage Funding
Kyrsten led a bipartisan effort to stop proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage payment rates for 2015. The proposal would have cut MA by 1.9%. Instead of the cut, CMS increased payments by 0.4%.
Nearly 43 percent of Medicare eligible beneficiaries in Congressional District 9 district choose a Medicare Advantage plan.
Payment rate reductions for 2015 would undermine the choices made by my fellow Arizonans by causing beneficiaries to lose needed services and experience increased premiums.
Instead of cutting funding for these popular plans, we should work together to find reasonable solutions that drive down cost, increase choice, address waste, fraud and abuse, spur innovation, and ultimately improve the quality of care provided to our seniors.
Fixing the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)
Kyrsten voted with a bipartisan majority on H.R. 4015, a bill replacing the broken Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate, or SGR, with a reasonable, incentive-based payment structure that strengthens Medicare for Arizona seniors. This bill protects Arizona seniors and ensures that Medicare remains strong and dependable. The bipartisan fixes in this bill prevent a 24 percent cut to physicians' Medicare reimbursement rates and ensure seniors' access to their doctors.
You can count on Kyrsten to continue to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare.

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