It is vital to protect Medicare and Social Security benefits while working to ensure the solvency of each program. In 2023, 1 in 5 Americans will rely on Social Security benefits and the program will lift an estimated 15 million adults and 1 million children above the poverty line by ensuring older Americans and disabled citizens have the resources they need for retirement. Similarly, over 63 million adults rely on Medicare for their health insurance, and as our population ages, this number will only increase.

In addition to protecting both programs from attacks by extremist Republicans, I will also advocate to:

• Expand Social Security benefits and raise the Social Security tax cap on individuals making over $400,000 a year in order to extend the solvency of the program.

• Expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing care.

• Expand access to Medicare Part C, which can significantly reduce healthcare costs for Americans, by incentivizing private insurance companies’ participation in the program

• Expand the ability of Medicare to negotiate the prices of even more prescription drugs to continue to lower costs for the program and seniors.