AARP is Talking Medicare Across the Garden State

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At AARP, we believe Medicare is a deal with the American people that must not be broken. Thankfully, President Trump repeatedly said during his campaign that he would not allow changes to this popular program. “I am going to protect and save your Social Security and your Medicare,” he told voters. “You made a deal a long time ago”. Older voters are counting on Congress to follow the president’s lead and protect Medicare.

AARP is launching a national campaign to tell Congress that we’ve earned our Medicare benefits with every paycheck and that we’re going to fight against any proposal to turn it into a voucher program, which would increase costs and risks for seniors and the workers who are paying in today. AARP has been working in recent weeks and months to educate and inform our members right here in the Garden State about what is currently being discussed in Washington surrounding Medicare, and why AARP has some concerns regarding these discussions. We’ve been holding local issue briefings across the state, with more happening in the coming weeks, and have been sharing information with our members regularly across our social channels, particularly Facebook.

In New Jersey, we know what a vital program Medicare is. Over 1.3 million people in the state are on Medicare and about 1.8 million will become eligible for Medicare over the next 15 years. Despite the President’s support for the program, Congressional leaders are pushing ahead with their long-simmering proposal to turn Medicare into a “premium support program.” What that really means is they want to create a Medicare voucher system. It would be a fixed-dollar subsidy that beneficiaries would use to buy private insurance. If the amount isn’t enough to cover their needed health care – tough luck. This risky scheme would end the guarantee of health insurance coverage to American seniors and dramatically increase costs for current and future retirees.

Learn more at aarp.org/protectmedicare.