Care for Older Americans

The number of Americans ages 65 and over will more than double over the next few decades. We must be proactive and consider how we will support our aging population. We’re going to need more accessible housing. We’re going to need more caregivers. We’re going to need a more robust health care infrastructure. Our senior population is growing and changing, and we must be ready. The time to start this project was decades ago, and I’m not going to leave one minute to spare in making progress on this issue.

We must strengthen Social Security, not slash it. I am strongly opposed to privatization and have actively fought to shore up the program for the millions of families who depend on it. I’m backing legislation to require the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share into Social Security so that we can prevent upcoming budget cuts and provide more resources to those who need them most. I’m also working to close loopholes that penalize retirees who draw on the benefits they earned while working in public service.

As we push for Medicare for All in the long term, we should make changes to Medicare to help older Americans get the care they need in the short term. I support expanding the program to cover vision and hearing services, lowering the eligibility age to 50, and empowering Medicare to negotiate the prices of all prescription drugs. As a consumer protection attorney, I’m leading efforts to bolster the Senior Medicare Patrol program, which better protects older Americans and taxpayers from scammers targeting Medicare. I’m also fighting efforts to privatize Medicare. Recently, I successfully pushed the Biden Administration to scale back a Trump-era program that moved patients on Traditional Medicare to private plans, often without their knowledge or consent.