Retiree Leader Condemns House GOP Budget Plan

April 05, 2011

Medicare, Medicaid Cuts Would Hurt Low-Income Seniors


For Immediate Release

April 5, 2011

The following statement was issued today by Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans:

"Paul Ryan's budget proposal takes better care of CEOs in corporate towers than it does seniors in nursing homes.

"His plan tries to hide its cold-hearted details behind seemingly innocuous buzzwords like ‘vouchers’ and ‘block grants.’  But the reality is that 'voucher' is Ryan-speak for turning Medicare over to the big insurance companies, and ‘block grant’ is Ryan-speak for saying that Medicaid should be run by Republican governors across the country.

"People of all ages have seen what happens when the insurance companies call the shots - they choose their profits over our health, the corporate interest over the public interest.  Moreover, we have seen what has been happening in state capitals over the past few months.  Why would anyone want to put affordable access to nursing homes and long-term care into the hands of Scott Walker, John Kasich, Mitch Daniels, or Chris Christie?

"In the name of deficit reduction, Paul Ryan goes way too far.  What he wants is to fundamentally change our nation’s values – give tax cuts to the wealthy, but yet make it harder for seniors and low-income children to see a doctor.

"The Alliance for Retired Americans, with its 4 million members organized in 1400 local chapters, will spend the month of April organizing grassroots actions around the country to try to stop this cold-hearted plan.  We have to tell Americans - particularly seniors - about just how dangerous Paul Ryan's budget proposal is.

"To keep America as a nation where we still lend a helping hand to the young and the old, and to the sick and the poor, we must stop these cuts to Medicare and Medicaid."

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Contact: David Blank (202) 637-5275 or dblank@retiredamericans.org


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