AMAC Opposes H.R. 5165 as Pandering to Older Americans

H.R. 5165 is not  credible legislation. It has the potential to accelerate the insolvency of the Medicare program and create financial stress for America’s hospital systems.

September 10, 2021

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
House Republican Minority Leader
H-204, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Steve Scalise
House Republican Whip
H-148, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Cc: Representative Jim Banks, IN-03; Representative Elise Stefanik, NY-21

Dear Leader McCarthy and Whip Scalise:

On behalf of the 2.37 million members of AMAC – Association of Mature American Citizens, I write to express our concern over H.R. 5165, the Improving Medicare Coverage Act.

On the surface, this bill looks like a blatant ploy to trick seniors into voting for Democrats in the mid-term elections next year. On a deeper level, this bill appears to be an initial step towards “Medicare for All” as lowering the age to 60 would be the first major eligibility change to Medicare since the Johnson Administration.

With the crisis at the border, runaway inflation, rampant crime in American cities, and the tragic loss of American service members during the poorly executed withdrawal from Afghanistan, one would think that Congressional Democrats would have higher priorities than pandering for votes with an ill-conceived adjustment to the Medicare program which is projected to become insolvent in a little over two years.

This potential expansion of the Medicare program by the Democrats, who appear to have no plan on how to fund their proposal, could accelerate the program’s insolvency and create financial stress for America’s hospital systems.

H.R. 5165 is not a credible piece of legislation, and we respectfully ask that it receive no votes from Congressional Republicans.

Sincerely,
Bob Carlstrom
President, AMAC Action

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