Coalition Seniors Hit Campaign Trail in Presidential Primary States to Protect Medicare Advantage
“I will be paying attention to candidates and what they are saying about Medicare Advantage,” CMC senior Jane Carlson of Iowa said.
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Coalition for Medicare Choices (CMC) announced a grassroots mobilization of some of its 1.8 million Medicare Advantage seniors in three presidential primary states. As the presidential campaign heats up, Coalition seniors are hitting the campaign trail in Iowa, Nevada, and South Carolina to make their voices heard by candidates on the ground at local events, town halls, and campaign stops.
Seniors are engaging with fellow voters and presidential candidates on the need to strengthen Medicare Advantage for nearly 17 million beneficiaries who choose this important coverage option for quality, affordable health care. Protecting the seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage is an important campaign issue as candidates connect with voters across the country.
“Medicare Advantage has made a huge difference to me and my family. I don’t know what we would do without it,” Coalition senior Jane Carlson of Prairie City, Iowa, said. “I think it’s quite the experience to have so many presidential candidates speaking in our backyards. I will be paying attention to the candidates and what they are saying about Medicare Advantage and other issues that impact older Americans.”
At a recent town hall event in Nevada, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) discussed the importance of protecting seniors with a member of the Coalition. He noted that Medicare Advantage plans offer a variety of innovative benefits not available in traditional fee-for-service Medicare and emphasized the choice, flexibility, and quality these plans provide.
“Medicare Advantage has actually injected competition and private choice… My mother’s on a Medicare Advantage plan, so it covers her pharmaceutical costs,” Sen. Rubio said. Watch the video clip here.
This effort builds on the Coalition’s year-round grassroots engagement with policymakers, including roundtable discussions with members of Congress and Medicare Advantage seniors across the country. Strong bipartisan support for Medicare Advantage seniors continues to grow on Capitol Hill. This past spring, when the Medicare agency proposed changes to Medicare Advantage that would put seniors’ coverage at risk, 348 members of Congress stood up to protect their constituents who rely on the program. These voices join a broad array of partners working with the Coalition to protect seniors.
Founded in 1999, the CMC is a national grassroots organization of more than 1.8 million Medicare Advantage beneficiaries from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Coalition members actively communicate with members of Congress about issues that affect their coverage. Over the years, Coalition members have made more than a million contacts with their members of Congress. Visit www.MedicareChoices.org to learn more and follow the Coalition on Facebook and Twitter.