Letter to the Editor: Protecting Medicare

To the Editor:

Medicare protects senior citizens and people with disabilities from exorbitant health care costs. Before this national insurance program was passed in 1966, seniors were charged up to three times as much for health insurance as younger people. Many could not afford the treatment they needed.

The current administration promised not to make cuts to Medicare but has since broken that promise. In 2017, the administration and Republicans in Congress proposed slashing Medicare by $845 billion in order to balance the budget after they gave billionaires and wealthy corporations a $1.5 trillion tax cut. They risked coverage for the 55 million Americans who rely on Medicare.

This administration still has Medicare in its sights and multiple Washington insiders have said that gutting the program is being called “a fun second-term project.”

With the COVID crisis, Medicare is more important now than ever. Medicare guarantees that seniors - at high risk for hospitalization if they get COVID-19 - will have access to good, affordable care and testing. When a vaccine is safe and available, Medicare will  cover that as well.

If elected, Democrats will strengthen Medicare and plan to add dental, vision and hearing coverage to traditional Medicare. They will stand up against efforts to cut Medicare and Social Security to ensure that these important programs remain available to future generations. They believe that Medicare and Social Security are promises that must be kept to seniors. And they have pledged to never let anyone lay a finger on these vital programs.

After a lifetime of contributing to American society, don’t our seniors deserve to retire in dignity with quality, affordable healthcare? I’m voting Democrat to protect and improve the earned benefits of retirees, people with disabilities and survivors.

Kevin Moore
Harpers Ferry