June 22, 2016

2016 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports Highlight Need to Expand Social Security and Rein in Out of Control Pharmaceutical Corporations

The following statement was issued by Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, regarding the Trustees reports issued today on the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds:

“The Social Security Trustees reaffirmed that Social Security can pay full benefits until 2034. After that, it can pay three-quarters of benefits. This is unchanged from last year’s report.

“The Medicare Trust Fund for hospital care has sufficient funds to cover its obligations until 2028, two years sooner than projected last year.

“The message we must take is that it’s time to expand Social Security. There are several bills already pending in Congress that would expand Social Security benefits and adopt a more accurate formula for determining cost-of -living increases. Economists, public opinion surveys and our members’ own experiences all indicate that Social Security benefits are becoming a larger portion of Americans’ retirement income. The minimum benefit will need to be increased to keep most retirees out of poverty.

“We can also significantly strengthen Medicare by tackling skyrocketing prescription drug prices, which are increasing at more than twice the rate of inflation. Medicare and its beneficiaries spent $103 billion on pharmaceuticals in 2013. We need to stop the profiteering and monopolistic behavior by pharmaceutical corporations to save both retirees’ and the taxpayers’ money.

“Nothing in today’s reports justifies Paul Ryan and the Republican Congressional leadership’s stated goal of cutting Social Security or Medicare by privatizing the systems or raising the retirement or eligibility age.”