ICYMI: POTUS Is Strengthening Medicare While House GOP Wants Higher Health Care Costs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 7, 2023
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ICYMI: POTUS IS STRENGTHENING MEDICARE WHILE HOUSE GOP WANTS HIGHER HEALTH CARE COSTS

NYT: Joe Biden: My Plan to Extend Medicare for Another Generation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ahead of his budget announcement on Thursday, President Biden is laying out his plans to strengthen programs that working families rely on, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). His budget will extend Medicare funding for the next generation, without any benefit cuts, and is fully paid for by cracking down on wealthy tax cheats – without raising taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year. This plan is good for working families and good for our economy. 

Congressional Republicans’ agenda, on the other hand, threatens Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the ACA, raises costs, and balloons the deficit by $3 trillion. The impact of their MAGA agenda would be disastrous:

  1. Health insurance for 40 million people would be at risk.
  2. More than 100 million Americans with pre-existing conditions could lose coverage. 
  3. Tens of millions of Americans could be faced with lifetime limits on their insurance benefits.
  4. Millions could lose coverage for free preventative care, including cancer screenings.
  5. 34 million children could lose guaranteed access to mental health care.

This extreme MAGA agenda is fiscally irresponsible and would hurt working families.  President Biden is always willing to work across the aisle on real solutions that improve the lives of working people – but he’ll veto any attempts by Congressional Republicans to cut essential benefits and raise costs.

See more on President Biden’s plan to fund Medicare for the next generation:

  • New York Times: Joe Biden: My Plan to Extend Medicare for Another Generation
    • For decades, I’ve listened to my Republican friends claim that the only way to be serious about preserving Medicare is to cut benefits, including by making it a voucher program worth less and less every year. Some have threatened our economy unless I agree to benefit cuts.
    • Only in Washington can people claim that they are saving something by destroying it.
  • Wall Street Journal: Biden’s Budget to Lay Out Plan to Extend Key Medicare Trust Fund by 25 Years
    • President Biden’s coming budget blueprint will propose extending the solvency of a key Medicare trust fund by at least 25 years, according to the White House, in part by increasing tax rates on people earning more than $400,000 a year. The plan would raise Medicare taxes to 5% from 3.8% for those top earners and effectively expand the reach of the tax so it applies to business income as well as investments, wages and self-employment income.

See more on the House GOP’s reckless spending record and plans to cut Medicare, Social Security, and other programs working families rely on:

  • New York Times: Republican Votes Helped Washington Pile Up Debt
    • Since 2017, when Donald J. Trump took the White House, Republicans and Democrats in Congress have joined together to pass a series of spending increases and tax cuts that the budget office projects will add trillions to the debt.
  • Insider: Republicans’ plans to slash Social Security and Medicare are becoming clearer: ‘We have no choice but to make hard decisions’
    • Although Republicans have been vague about the budgetary cuts they want in recent months, it’s becoming clearer that Social Security and Medicare are among their major targets, even as both programs are extremely popular among Americans.
  • Reuters: Republican House Conservatives Threaten Debt Limit Default to Cut Social Programs
    • At some point in 2023 Congress will need to address the debt limit and several leading GOP House members are threatening to block an increase to force cuts to Medicare and Social Security spending.

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