I urge you to preserve Medicare and protect the people and families that rely upon the program for life saving care. In the debate over deficit reduction, policymakers are discussing changes to Medicare that would increase costs and cut coverage for people with Medicare.
But people with Medicare are in a poor position to pay more for care, and they use care because they need it. Half of people with Medicare have incomes below $22,000 per year, and nearly half have three or more chronic conditions.
Furthermore, proposals that shift costs to people with Medicare or discourage them from getting care -- including those that would increase out-of-pocket costs, cut benefits, raise the Medicare eligibility age, or make Medicare into a voucher program -- do nothing to address the root cause of Medicare spending, which is growing costs in the health care sector overall for all Americans.
We must not cut benefits or raise costs for people with Medicare. We must preserve the promise we've made as a nation: that older Americans and people with disabilities have a right to access high-quality, affordable health care and live with dignity.
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