AARP Eye Center
Social Security is the cornerstone of our country's retirement security. Medicare provides health care for 49 million Americans, including 4.4 million Californians. And after years of paying into these programs, you deserve a voice in their future.
AARP California invited Rep. Xavier Becerra to join members in a conversation on August 21st to discuss these vital programs. In addition, many of our members wanted to know how the new health care law would affect them. In a telephone town hall with over 800 attendees, Rep. Becerra responded to questions and concerns voiced by his constituents and stressed the importance of asking government officials for information and assistance when issues are confusing or unclear. “Government isn’t some abstract concept, it’s us," he told attendees. "We are the government. It's we the people....We have to be involved.”
Over the last 78 years that Social Security has been around, we have seen thirteen recessions...Social Security never once has failed to pay on time and in full the benefits that people have earned. During a time when people were afraid to look at their 401(k) statements and their IRA statements every month because they knew that they had lost a lot of money in those retirement savings accounts, Social Security never once lost a single penny. We should be standing up to fight for what has kept a lot of Americans from falling into poverty during the deepest recessions and fight to strengthen it for the future generations to be able to know what it means to have something you can count on. Rep. Xavier Becerra on Social Security
The congressman took time to debunk some myths about the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the new health law sometimes known as Obamacare. He was asked whether or not it was true that President Barack Obama reallocated billions of dollars from Medicare to fund the Affordable Care Act. Rep. Becerra said it was not and explained that provisions in the law help curb Medicare costs with savings resulting from reining in unreasonable payments to providers and cracking down on fraud and abuse. In fact, the ACA prohibits cuts to guaranteed Medicare benefits.
Additionally, Rep. Becerra addressed concerns about a potential rise in Medicare costs due to the Affordable Care Act. He stated that there will not be increased costs to beneficiaries as a result of the new health law, pointing out that the cost of prescription drugs will decrease and co-pays will be eliminated for some preventative screenings. He told the audience, “There are deceptive ads and stories out there about Medicare and what the health law would do to Medicare that are completely untrue. You actually receive better services and benefits today than you did before."
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Listen to the full tele-town hall to hear all of the questions and answers. Do you have a question about these programs that wasn't answered? Let us know by leaving a comment below or sending us an email. You can also keep in touch with us by subscribing to our state email and joining us on Facebook and Twitter.
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