Protecting Medicare and Social Security

Dear Friend,

Quality healthcare and retirement benefits are essential to seniors in our district. As your representative, I have worked hard to protect and preserve Medicare and Social Security for Americans.  Current and future generations of seniors deserve the best retirement possible and strong but affordable healthcare benefits.

Although hospitals and doctors face serious cuts, it should not be the responsibility of patients to cover these cuts and I am glad to see the Administration is as committed as I am to protecting seniors’ benefits. 

I am pleased to share with you the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ announcement that monthly premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers doctors’ services and outpatient care, will be lower than expected in 2012.  In fact, increased premiums will be less than four dollars and keep the total cost to less than $100.00. 
This will help seniors who live on a fixed income and will affect more than 50,000 Medicare beneficiaries in my district alone.  These savings are a direct result of the new health care law being put into action.  Reforms in the Affordable Care Act help to control the costs of the Medicare.  The use of new technologies and management tools has helped to eliminate instances of waste, fraud, and abuse in the system.

The Social Security Administration also announced this month that Social Security recipients will receive a 3.6 percent raise to their benefits for 2012, the first increase in three years.  This will help Orange County seniors who have been hit hard by the economic downturn to pay their bills and keep up with rising costs.

I am working hard with the President and my colleagues in Congress to support our nation’s seniors whose economic stability depends on Medicare and Social Security.  I will continue to support our seniors and retirees through legislative action in Washington and in Orange County by resolving case work issues.  If you are a senior and are experiencing difficulties obtaining your benefits, please contact my Garden Grove office at 714-621-0102.  Thank you for the honor and privilege to serve you in Congress.