Local organizations launch petition drive at ProtectIowaSeniors.com
DES MOINES, IOWA — Iowans are petitioning their members of Congress today to ask: will you protect Iowa seniors? The petition drive was launched at ProtectIowaSeniors.com by the Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans, Progress Iowa, and Protect Your Care. The petition calls for Iowa’s delegation to reject the Romney/Ryan budget and support the reforms made in Obamacare.
“Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are the most anti-senior ticket in history,” said Jan Laue, President of the Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans. “Their ticket and the Romney/Ryan budget pose unprecedented threats to all Iowans, particularly Iowa seniors. We are calling on Iowa’s Congressional delegation to reject the Romney/Ryan budget, and protect the programs that benefit our seniors.”
The Romney/Ryan budget ends Medicare as we know it for more than 500,000 Iowans through privatization, replacing the current payment system with a fixed-cost voucher program. The budget also forces more than 60,000 Iowa seniors back into the prescription drug “donut hole” and raises the amount they have to pay for medicine. Iowa’s Congressional delegation has twice voted on the Romney/Ryan budget. Congressmen Dave Loebsack, Bruce Braley, and Leonard Boswell have all opposed the budget. Congressmen Tom Latham and Steve King have supported the budget.
“Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security have provided a strong foundation for Iowa seniors,” said Matt Sinovic, executive director of Progress Iowa. “And the new reforms in Obamacare only strengthen the care seniors receive. We are now asking Iowa’s congressional delegation: will you protect Iowa seniors by standing up for the reforms we’ve fought for, and by rejecting the Romney/Ryan budget?”
Since Obamacare became law, Iowa seniors have saved more than $32 million on prescription drugs, and more than 400,000 Iowa seniors have received free preventive care. In addition, the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund is extended by reducing overpayments to insurance companies and cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare.
To learn more about the petition and issues facing Iowa seniors, visit ProtectIowaSeniors.com.