Medicare

As a physician who treated thousands of Medicare patients during my career, I have a profound personal understanding of the broad impact of Medicare in the lives of seniors. As your representative I have worked hard to preserve and strengthen Medicare, both for current enrollees and future generations of seniors reliant on this vital program to protect the health and lives of seniors.

Unfortunately, when President Obama and his liberal allies created Obamacare, they put the future of Medicare at risk with $716 billion in proposed cuts and creation of IPAB, a board of fifteen unelected bureaucrats tasked with proposing additional cuts to Medicare. President Obama hasn't stopped there and has recently proposed $275 billion in additional cuts to Medicare.

I've been fighting these attempts to cut billions from Medicare, consistently voting against President Obama's cuts to Medicare and creation of IPAB. I have also worked to strengthen this vital program by supporting responsible, practical reforms which ensure Medicare continues to serve current beneficiaries without any change to their current benefits or alteration of the commitment we've made to protect our senior citizens.

However, with the cost of health care rising and an expected sharp increase in the number of retiring Americans within the next few decades, we must work to maintain our commitment and obligation to providing Medicare to seniors. It is a serious problem requiring serious decisions, but I do not support privitization of Medicare and will not support any program which changes or alters our commitment to protect the health of seniors.