“We must address Social Security and Medicare solvency in a bipartisan way,” said Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE). “Both programs were created with bipartisan support, and no serious reform of the program has been enacted without both parties working together.”

With some Medicare and Social Security programs poised to run out of money, Democrats and the Biden Administration are willfully ignoring the threat.

If Congress fails to act, seniors will see their benefits drop by nearly 25 percent.

CLICK HERE to read the full op-ed.

KEY EXCERPTS:

• “There are roughly 69.1 million Social Security beneficiaries in the United States and roughly 64.4 million enrollees in Medicare. These Americans — many of them our most vulnerable neighbors — rely on these programs, and it’s important we do everything we can to ensure the federal government makes good on its promise to provide these benefits.”
• “Although less tangible initially, allowing Medicare’s Part A Trust Fund to run out of money could also endanger seniors’ access to care by reducing payments to hospitals […] Hospitals and doctors are not required to see Medicare patients, and many would be forced to stop accepting patients with health plans that don’t pay their bills.”
• “For many who rely only on Social Security, this reduction of benefits would drag them dangerously close to the poverty line, even before factoring in inflation.”

KEY BACKGROUND:

• President Biden’s own policies push Medicare towards insolvency: Without changes, working Americans could face a hike in Medicare payroll taxes by 26 percent. He also seeks new services with no reforms to save this important program from going broke and failing 62 million beneficiaries as well as those near retirement.
• Democrats’ plan will make these higher prices worse: In a hearing with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on President Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget, Republican Leader on the Ways and Means Committee Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) said:
  

  “On health, we believe the Administration has undermined Americans’ care, increased prices, and reduced access to new, innovative treatments. Medicare is barreling toward insolvency, while seniors’ premiums have swelled.”

READ: Brady: Biden Health Budget Limits Options, Raises Costs for Americans

• President Biden is targeting the popular Medicare Advantage program: Despite Medicare Advantage’s (MA) growing popularity, the Biden Administration targets this program in an effort to move us backwards towards a socialist single-payer model that will limit patient choice and increase costs.