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We Need to Fight to Protect Medicare

Some powerful people want to gut the fifty-year-old program.

NationAction

August 10, 2015

A sign supporting Medicare is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 30, 2015, as registered nurses and other community leaders celebrate the 50th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WHAT CAN I DO?

Medicare, signed into law fifty years ago this summer, is under attack. Sign our petition with the Alliance for Retired Americans to call on Congress to reject cuts that shift costs onto the backs of seniors and disabled folks, and instead look for ways to strengthen and preserve Medicare for current and future generations.

For fifty years, Medicare has served as a key component of the American social safety net, providing critical health care services to millions of older adults and people with disabilities.

As we celebrate Medicare’s fiftieth birthday, we urge you to reject calls for deep cuts as proposed by this year’s House and Senate budgets and instead strengthen and preserve Medicare for current and future generations.

Today, Medicare serves 54 million older adults and people with disabilities. Do not shift costs onto the backs of those who can least afford it.

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WHAT’S GOING ON?

Fifty years ago this summer, as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” reforms, Medicare was signed into law to help millions of older adults and people with disabilities access the health care they deserve.

Today, thanks in part to the Affordable Care Act, Medicare spending per beneficiary is growing at historically low rates. But despite the success of Medicare, this year’s Senate and House budgets seek to make hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts, and the House’s would transform it from a guarantee to a voucher program.

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