"Raising the retirement age would inflict further hardship among a group of workers who are likely to face health and economic problems in their 60s." –Doug Hart, President, Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans
"Of all the lies and confusion that still surround the Affordable Care Act, perhaps the greatest is that it is bad for seniors." - Dave Meinell, President, Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans
"My father died when I was three. Because of Social Security (survivors) benefits, my Mom, my younger sister and I survived." – Diane Fleming, DC Alliance Member
"We fear that Congress will balance the budget on the backs of the 98 percent, which is working Montanans and retired Montanans. We simply cannot afford these devastating cuts to vital services such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid," –John Forkan, President, Montana Alliance for Retired Americans
"Along with national parks and Social Security, Medicare is one of the best ideas we Americans have ever devised." -Tim Cunningham, New Mexico Alliance Member
"Seniors have earned and deserve their Social Security checks, and they shouldn't have to go to Congress every 10 years and beg for the program to be renewed." –James Parent, Alliance for Retired Americans Regional Board Member
"Today's retirees paid Medicare and Social Security taxes in every paycheck we ever earned. Now that we are retired, these programs help us to be able to stay healthy and pay our bills. They are the promise we make to people who worked hard all their lives, and we need to keep that promise for today’s workers." –Tony Fransetta, President, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans
"Today's seniors want to lower the budget deficit. We do not want a large debt to be the legacy we leave to future generations, but we should not punish people who have paid Social Security taxes all their lives." –Jim Moore, President, North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans
"Social Security should remain what it has been for 77 years – a solid, reliable way that generations of workers have been able to retire with dignity, economic security, and peace of mind." –Barbara J. Easterling, President, Alliance for Retired Americans
"The fight for Social Security and Medicare is part of a larger fight for justice and fairness"—Barbara J. Easterling, President, Alliance for Retired Americans
"The health insurance reform helps not just seniors, but also middle-class families and young Americans, who are just starting to see the benefits. Don’t let Republicans take all that away." –Don Rowen, President Emeritus, Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans
"Honoring the promise of Social Security and Medicare should not be a partisan issue. Honoring the contributions that we make throughout our working years so that we may feed and clothe ourselves, keep a roof over our heads and those of our family, there is no reason for that to be a hotly contested partisan issue." –Edward Coyle, Executive Director, Alliance for Retired Americans
"We need to make sure that people who need Social Security to make ends meet will have it, and not fall victim to ill-informed and unnecessary cuts to these vital programs."
–Barbara J. Easterling, President, Alliance for Retired Americans
Retiree Leader: Stark Choices for Medicare in Tonight's Debate
October 11, 2012
For Immediate Release
October 11, 2012
The following statement was issued by Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, in advance of tonight’s vice-presidential debate.
“Tonight’s debate will address a fundamental question: does Medicare exist to protect seniors’ health or insurance companies’ wealth?
“Retirees, worried about losing their ability to see a doctor and fill a prescription, will tonight hear two diametrically different views on Medicare. Vice President Biden can proudly tout the Administration’s landmark accomplishment of lowering the price of prescription drugs, giving seniors free access to life-saving tests and screenings, and strengthening Medicare’s finances by cracking down on wasteful and inefficient spending of tax dollars by private businesses.
“Contrasting this will be Rep. Paul Ryan, architect of a plan to dramatically change Medicare by steering seniors toward a risky voucher plan in which they would buy Medicare coverage directly from insurance companies. The very reason Medicare was created nearly 50 years ago was to spare seniors the high cost and discriminatory practices of the private insurance market. Other than Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, who believes that what insurance companies really need is more profit and more power over middle class Americans?
“Not only is Medicare one of the greatest differences between the two parties, but it is perhaps the area on which voters, particularly seniors, have been most shamefully misled. Opponents of progress are trying to scare us into going back to a failed, broken health care system, one in which insurance companies reaped outrageous profits at the expense of those most in need.
“Tonight, America’s seniors will need to choose between these two sharply divergent views of Medicare.”
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Contact: David Blank (202) 637-5275 or dblank@retiredamericans.org










