In case you missed it, the Union Leader published an op-ed by Senator Maggie Hassan, highlighting her record of protecting Social Security and Medicare and keeping our promise to older Granite Staters. In contrast, Don Bolduc has repeatedly promised to end Social Security and Medicare as we know it.
LAST MONTH, I stood with Granite Staters who shared why it is important to protect Medicare and Social Security. One of those Granite Staters was Laurel, who lives in Concord. Her husband suffered with Alzheimer’s for 12 years. It was a heartbreaking process, and also an expensive one that drained much of her finances. After he passed, Social Security became her primary source of income. Cuts to Social Security would threaten her ability to continue retirement and make ends meet. If Social Security was eliminated entirely, she doesn’t know what she would do. Laurel is just one of the more than 300,000 Granite Staters who depend on Social Security and Medicare. These programs do more than just help Granite Staters get the support and care that they need; they are a part of our democracy’s promise that everyone who works hard deserves to retire with dignity.
As your senator, I am working to strengthen Medicare and Social Security and preserve them for future generations.
For years, I have heard from New Hampshire seniors who have been forced to make gut-wrenching decisions between purchasing life-saving medications and making ends meet. So this summer, I helped pass a law that will finally allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, which will bring down the cost of medications for seniors and for all Americans. The law also caps out-of-pocket expenses for medications covered by Medicare Part D and will cap insulin prices at $35 per month for Medicare beneficiaries. This landmark legislation is the most important action that we have taken to strengthen Medicare in more than a decade, and will both put money back in seniors’ pockets and save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. Big Pharma opposed this legislation, but despite their efforts, we stood up to Big Pharma to secure this critical victory for American families.
I am also working to strengthen Social Security by having the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share to preserve it for future generations. We also know that we can increase the program’s longevity by expanding our economy and increasing wages, which increases Social Security’s revenue.
My commitment to New Hampshire seniors stands in stark contrast with my opponent, Don Bolduc. Bolduc is running on an extreme agenda calling to eliminate Social Security and end Medicare as we know it. Just last week, he said that Social Security has “been there since 1935. It’s time for change.” He has repeatedly made clear that he believes that Social Security should not exist at all. He has dismissed the program as being from a “different time” and “different place.” And at a town hall, he said that the government should cut $2 trillion from Social Security and raise the retirement age. Bolduc’s ultimate goal is clear; he has said on video that if he had his way, we would “no longer have Social Security.”
Don Bolduc does not just want to end Social Security — he has repeatedly called for ending Medicare as we know it. He stood with Big Pharma and opposed efforts to bring down prescription drug prices. At a town hall in August, he said that privatizing Medicare is “hugely important.” Bolduc’s proposal to end Medicare as we know it would be devastating for our state. More than 300,000 Granite Staters depend on Medicare. If we did things Don Bolduc’s way, seniors would be forced to pay more for health care and many would forgo health insurance altogether. They would miss critical appointments, exams, and preventive care. They would be forced to skip screenings for cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other serious conditions, and face even steeper medical bills when they fall ill.
Don Bolduc has continued to demonstrate that he is deeply out of touch with New Hampshire seniors. By ending Social Security and Medicare, he would not only eliminate critical programs that seniors depend on to make ends meet, he would have our government break its promise to the American people and rob them of money that they earned and are owed. Simply put, that money is not Don Bolduc’s to take — it belongs to every Granite Stater who worked hard over decades and paid into the program.
Medicare and Social Security are on the ballot this November. At stake are not only the health and economic security of seniors, like Laurel, but those of every American who will one day come to rely on these programs. Unlike Don Bolduc, I will keep fighting to ensure that our government keeps its promises to seniors and all Americans. Because in New Hampshire, we keep our word.
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