Linda Ketner on Seniors

“Too many seniors are struggling to live securely.  Inflation is tightening the buying power of fixed incomes at a time when the price of gas, food and utilities are rising.   Healthcare costs are skyrocketing and Medicare patients are being put at the end of the line.   Companies are cutting pension plans, houses aren’t selling and credit is tight.  Bottom line: seniors who have contributed to this country and worked hard all their lives deserve to be secure.”

Protecting Social SecurityWe need to enact laws setting up a Social Security Trust Fund that must be invested and cannot be used as part of the general revenue.

No to privitizing Social Security.

We should raise the amount of income on which Social Security must be paid.

Social Security was never intended to be the only source of income for retirees. Only half of Americans have a pension plan.   We need a stronger pension system and a portable pension system as well as other options for private savings to supplement - not replace - Social Security.

Giving Seniors a Choice about Social Security 

Recipients should have the option to refuse benefits and take a full tax credit equal to what he or she could have drawn.

Fix Medicare 

Medicare premiums have more than doubled since 2000. Doctors are dropping out because of cuts and turning away patients. And many seniors desperately need help in paying for prescriptions.

Medicare should be secondary, not primary coverage, if other insurance is available. 

Prescription drugs should be negotiated for lowest cost options as they are with the Veterans Administration.

Donuts should be hot and fried!   The Medicare “donut hole” is a gap in coverage which seniors pay for themselves. For some seniors, this means deciding which prescription to forego. Over four million seniors will face this gap in coverage. We need to close this loophole.

 Protect Seniors from Consumer Fraud

Many vulnerable seniors are taken advantage of by various kinds of scams. Financial fraud can be devastating for a senior living on a modest income. We should step up federal regulations to protect people from deceptive practices that put seniors’ homes and savings at risk.

 Create Livable Communities

We need to have livable communities with viable public transportation, housing, and community centers.   We should support opportunities for seniors to volunteer, stay active and continue to give to a country they helped make great.