skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Congress Asked to Follow Trump's Promise on Medicare

play audio
Play

Monday, February 6, 2017   

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two million Ohioans depend on Medicare for health care, and keeping the program strong is among the challenges facing the Trump administration and congressional leaders.

Government reports show the program will not be fully funded after 2028, and among the solutions suggested by lawmakers is a Republican-backed "premium support program."

Luke Russell, director of advocacy for AARP Ohio, explains it's essentially a voucher program that would dramatically increase health care costs for current and future retirees. That's why he says AARP is asking Congress to follow the president's lead.

"The president pledged he would not cut Medicare,” Russell points out. “Older Americans were instrumental in electing President Trump and the Republican Congress, and now those voters are counting on both Congress and the president to lead and protect Medicare. That's one promise we're hoping the president keeps."

Medicare currently is a single payer program that pays for health care directly. The GOP proposal, which aims to reduce costs in order to extend the lifetime of Medicare, would give older Americans a fixed monthly subsidy to buy coverage, instead of guaranteeing their existing level of benefits.

Volunteers and workers with AARP are meeting with congressional leaders as part of an aggressive national campaign to fight any proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher program.

Russell says lawmakers should be protecting the health and financial security of older Americans, who sometimes must stretch every dollar.

"The average income for people over 65 is approximately $25,000 a year,” he explains. “One out of every $6 is spent on health care. The average retiree will spend approximately 20 percent of their income on health care, whereas the general working population spends about 10 percent on health care."

Besides putting 2 million Ohio seniors' benefits at risk, Russell says, the proposal also threatens the benefits of about 2.4 million workers currently paying into the system and set to transition to Medicare over the next 15 years.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021