Senior News

Talking Points Memo, 8/15/10 - Sharron Angle has taken a long, winding journey on Social Security -- only to end up back in the same place, at least in some respects. She started off calling for the program to be phased out, then scrambled to walk that position back, and is now kind of creeping back toward the original -- perhaps unintentionally. In many ways, Angle's motions on this big issue reflect the classic pattern of a political campaign: Go to extremes for the primary, and inch to the middle for the general election.

MSNBC, 8/12/10 - How big of a political problem are Sharron Angle's past statements on Social Security?

Big enough that the Republican challenging Harry Reid in Nevada's Senate contest is now airing a TV ad in which she calls to "save" the entitlement program for seniors. "We have a contract with our seniors who have put into Social Security in good faith," she says in the advertisement. "I’d like to save Social Security by locking the lock box, putting the money back into the Trust Fund so government can no longer raid our retirement."

Associated Press, 08/02/10 - The new health overhaul law will start producing savings for Medicare right away, and over time add 12 years of solvency to the program's giant trust fund for inpatient care, the Obama administration says in a report to be released Monday.

Medicare will save about $8 billion by the end of next year, and $575 billion over the rest of the decade, the report said.

Las Vegas Sun, 4/25/10 - Letter to the Editor

The new health care law includes the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS), which will improve all of our lives. It provides care for the elderly who want to stay at home. I wish it had been there when home assistance was financially impossible for our family and our mother had to go into a nursing home.

The program is provided through a payroll deduction. The younger you are when you begin the program, the less expensive it is, and it will provide services for you at home for as long as needed when you are elderly. It is not mandatory. Employees can opt out.

Last week I had the privilege of being honored by The Alliance for Retired Americans. They presented me with their lifetime of service award because I have always fought hard for seniors and veterans in my state and across the nation.

This award is especially meaningful to me because its very first recipient was my good friend Senator Ted Kennedy – and I am always honored to be in any club that includes Ted Kennedy.

It’s been about three weeks since I stood behind President Obama as he signed his name on the historic health care bill, but I’m so proud to say that the reforms for which we fought for a century are now the law of the land.

This would never have happened without the steadfast support of the Alliance for Retired Americans.  It would not have happened without their courage – their dedication to standing up for what is necessary, and what is right – and their determination to separate the facts from the fear.

The Washington Post, 12/20/2009 - As President Obama noted to Congress this fall, for Ted, health-care reform was not a matter of ideology or politics. It was not about left or right, Democrat or Republican. It was a passion born from the experience of his own life, the experience of our family and the experiences of the millions of Americans across this country who considered him their senator, too.

The bill before Congress will finally deliver on the urgent needs of all Americans. It would make their lives better and do so much good for this country. That, in the end, must be the test of reform. That was always the test for Ted Kennedy. He's not here to urge us not to let this chance slip through our fingers. So I humbly ask his colleagues to finish the work of his life, the work of generations, to allow the vote to go forward and to pass health-care reform now. As Ted always said, when it's finally done, the people will wonder what took so long.

Insurance & Financial Advisor, 12/16/09 - While the Senate continues to muster support for an alternative to a government-run insurance program, it has won the backing by the AARP for another component of its proposed health reform legislation.

The AARP, on behalf of its more than 40 million members over the age of 50, recently sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), applauding the Senate’s commitment to close the Medicare prescription drug “doughnut hole” in its Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The doughnut hole is the gap between Medicare Part D coverage and access to additional coverage options for prescription drugs.

Las Vegas Review-Journal, 12/14/2009 - "Those caught in the middle simply don't take the medicines they need at far greater rates than those that do have coverage," Reid said. "That means more expensive doctor visits, more expensive hospital stays and more expensive medicines. It means more sickness and more deaths."

KVBC, 12/09/2009 - It's beginning to look a lot like health care reform. Senate Democrats say they hope to vote on the final version of their bill by Christmas.

Senator Harry Reid says reaching the compromise was not easy and not everyone was on board with this bill. Also, he admits that the first few days of working on the bill did not go well.

But senators hashed it out and they say what they have delivered is a plan with more choices for the people and less control for insurance companies.

The AARP’s recent endorsement of the reforms strengthening Medicare in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act removed any doubt that the Senate’s health insurance reform legislation is good for Nevada’s seniors.

However, Republicans committed to the status quo are attempting to mislead voters into believing that the legislation will cut Medicare benefits.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

AP, 12/03/2009 - With a Senate showdown looming, the politically potent AARP rode to the rescue of Democrats on Wednesday, supporting $460 billion in Medicare cuts to help pay for landmark health care legislation.

As Republicans pressed to restore the cuts, AARP said Democrats merely were recommending elimination of waste and inefficiency within the giant health care program for seniors.

"Most importantly, the legislation does not reduce any guaranteed Medicare benefits," A. Barry Rand, the AARP's CEO, said in a letter to senators.

That is why this country should be thankful that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is fighting for passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This landmark legislation would help fix a health insurance market that has been broken for decades.

Reid was right when he said: "The health care status quo is not an option for our states."

...The politically safe course would have been for Reid to let someone else carry the legislation instead of having all of the partisan slings and arrows shot his way by the Republicans who so desperately want to see him defeated next year. Reid, unlike the Republican leaders, is displaying political courage - something Americans want to see in their elected officials.

We hope Republicans heed something else Reid said Saturday: "Do not try to silence a great debate over a great crisis. Do not let history show that when given the chance to debate and defend your position, to work with us for the good of our country and constituents, you ran and hid. You cannot wish away a great emergency by closing one’s eyes and pretending it doesn’t exist."

by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Senior Spectrum Newspaper, 10/2009 - Last month President Obama made his address to Congress, and was perfectly clear about what health insurance reform is and what it isn’t. Too many rumors and misrepresentations have been circulated that seek to confuse and scare Nevada’s most vulnerable citizens. Most everyone can agree that health insurance reform is necessary and here in Congress we are working on the best way to keep what works and fix what’s broken. I want to reiterate what the President said about the blatant falsehoods that have been generated by opponents of reform so that Nevada’s seniors can have confidence in their health care for years to come.

Senior Spectrum Newspaper, 07/2009 - No one is more concerned with reforming our nation’s broken health care system than senior citizens. Nevada seniors need to know that they can rely on their health insurance and Medicare when they get sick or injured. They need to know they can see their doctors, afford their prescriptions, and receive the best care available whenever they need it.

I want to assure Nevada’s seniors the overhaul we are about to embark on will protect their freedom to chose their own doctor, reduce costs and help seniors who can’t get the care they need afford quality health care.