Congressional Republicans Advance 'Medicare-Killing' Budget

“A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward."
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Republicans in Congress are determined to advance a “Medicare-killing” budget. For conservatives, the purpose and benefits of Medicare to the 40 million Americans age 65 and older are ignored as the GOP continues it’s relentless attack against this Social Security Health Insurance program.

Last year Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) proposed that Medicare be replaced by a fully privatized plan, it was a disaster for the GOP as those 65 years and older rallied against the Republican onslaught. Now, just last week, Ryan introduced a sequel to his earlier assault on Medicare as he put forward his Path to Prosperity, Medicare-Killing fiscal plan.

Ryan conveniently ignores the fact that Medicare works for America and must be protected. This program provides 47 million seniors and disabled Americans with access to affordable and life sustaining treatments and medicines. Before Congress created Medicare in 1965, more than half of American seniors did not have health insurance due to un-affordable cost. Sick, elderly, patients were treated like second class citizens. Many aging Americans without family to care for them became destitute, or out on the street, without critical health care. Republicans like Ryan want to return America to this disgraceful time.

Ryan also proposes to take from seniors the provision of the Affordable Health Care Act that cuts the cost of prescription drugs for millions of Medicare patients, including the new 50 percent discount on brand name drugs for seniors and people with disabilities in the “donut hole." Already, nearly 900,000 patients have used the discounts and saved $461 million.

Ryan’s budget proposal has nothing to do with fairness, instead it provides massive tax breaks for the richest 1 percent and preserves the huge give-aways to “Big Oil," while at the same time shifting the burden of deficit reduction to the middle class and seniors citizens. Once again, the conservative Republicans fail to ask the rich to make sacrifices but instead proposes to end guaranteed health coverage under Medicare and shred this critical safety net for the middle class.