Schakowsky, Senior Leaders Respond to Republican Party and Michael Steele's Lies, Hypocrisy on Medicare, Seniors and Health Insurance Reform
For Immediate Release
August 24, 2009
Contact: Megan Jacobs 202-590-4666
Schakowsky, Senior Leaders Respond to Republican Party and Michael Steele's Lies, Hypocrisy on Medicare, Seniors and Health Insurance Reform
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare President Barbara Kennelly, Alliance for Retired Americans Executive Director Edward Coyle and AFSCME Director of Retiree Programs Steve Regenstreif Discuss Impact of Health Insurance Reform for Seniors
To listen to audio of the call, click here: http://www.democrats.org/page/-/audio/calls/CC330082409_1-2.mp3
Washington -- Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), former Congresswoman and National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare President Barbara Kennelly, Alliance for Retired Americans Executive Director Edward Coyle and AFSCME Director of Retiree Programs Steve Regenstreif held a conference call with reporters to discuss how health insurance reform will affect seniors and respond to the lies and misinformation being spread by the GOP--including those of RNC Chairman Michael Steele in his op-ed this morning in the Washington Post.
Since the health insurance debate began, the GOP has attempted to spread lies and misinformation about how insurance reform will affect seniors. But the truth is, President Obama’s reforms will lower costs, protect choice and provide more options.
To protect seniors and all Americans from sky-high costs and denial of coverage, President Obama recently announced eight Health Insurance Guarantees. Under the President’s Health Insurance Guarantees, everyone will benefit, even people who currently have insurance, because any legislation he signs will include these iron clad guarantees - guarantees which will reverse years of unfair insurance company practices: 1) no discrimination for pre-existing conditions, 2) no exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles, or co-pays, 3) no cost-sharing for preventive care, 4) no dropping of coverage for the seriously ill, 5) no gender discrimination, 6) no annual or lifetime caps on coverage, 7) extended coverage for young adults, and 8) guaranteed insurance renewal.
To listen to audio of the call, click here: http://www.democrats.org/page/-/audio/calls/CC330082409_1-2.mp3
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
“The Democrats have been engaged in a truly serious effort for months now to try and pass health insurance reform legislation that lowers costs, protects those that have insurance and actually improves their status and provides affordable options for the uninsured and those at risk of loosing their coverage. But the Republicans are doing nothing except saying no and spreading lies…Chairman Steele wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post that is just simply riddled with lies…we know this is a maneuver taken to scare senior citizens – fear is their friend… the substance of this document uses false claims that have time after time been debunked yet the Republican Party continues to use scare tactics such as their ongoing effort to, in their own words, break the President, kill health insurance reform. The truth is health insurance reform will provide more security and new benefits to senior citizens…No senior will see any reduction in Medicare benefits whatsoever… we can’t allow them [seniors] to have to bear the burden of our broken health care system and what we want the Republicans to do is just to work with us on this serious public policy issue and not to lie and scare our seniors.”
Former Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly, President, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
“I feel like I’m living in an unreal world. I’ve spent the last 25 years of my life involved with the Medicare program… I well remember Congressman Gingrich very proud of being quoted everywhere saying he wanted Medicare to wither on the vine… For me to read this morning that the Republican Chair is now championing Medicare – it’s very hard to believe… no one is cutting the beneficiaries at this point, no one… what the Republicans are doing is pure politics -- they’re trying to scare the older people.”
Edward Coyle, Alliance for Retired Americans Executive Director
“Time and time again these despicable scare tactics used by some Republicans and their cheerleaders on talk radio have been proven incorrect, yet they repeatedly demagogue on these same topics with no regard for the truth because they actually have no positive plan of their own. Their only recourse is to lie, and I would add deliberately and knowingly lie, and all Americans should be outraged by this, especially our seniors…A ‘Bill of Rights’ for seniors should include the right to be told the truth. The truth is retirees have a lot to gain from leading Democratic proposals that would make it easier for them to see a doctor, get a prescription filled, and afford long-term care…Today’s sad publicity stunt by the RNC belies weeks of leading Republicans trying to scare seniors, and mislead them with lies and predictions of doom. These scare tactics are false, but not enough people know this, thanks to millions of dollars in television advertising and disruptive behavior at town hall meetings.”
Steve Regenstreif, AFSCME Director of Retiree Programs
“Chairman Steele is introducing a red herring here. Nothing in any of the bills passed by Congressional committees would hurt Medicare beneficiaries. Most organizations for seniors support health care reform because it will help Medicare in the long run. We would never support anything that would cut benefits or raise costs for seniors. But Steele hasn’t always believed that Medicare should be sacrosanct when it comes to finding costs savings. Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press as a Senate candidate in 2006, Steele said that cuts to Medicare ‘absolutely’ had to be ‘on the table’ in order to ‘control runaway federal spending’…the implication of Chairman Steele and the Republican National Committee’s Medicare rhetoric is that proposed health care reforms would cut benefits for seniors – that’s an outright lie.”
