Published in the Nashua Telegraph on October 9, 2012

NASHUA – At 94 years old, Nathaniel Brooks doesn’t worry about losing his Medicare coverage.

The Nashua senior, who lobbied for Medicare at its inception, has been on the federal program for more than 30 years. And even under the Republican proposal to add a voucher option, Brooks and his peers age 55 and older would maintain their current coverage.

But that doesn’t put Brooks’ mind at ease, he said Monday during a roundtable discussion with Congressional candidate Ann McLane Kuster. For him, Medicare is a family concern.

“I have three children, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. … What are they supposed to do?” Brooks asked Kuster and the eight other seniors who gathered for the discussion at the Nashua Teachers Union hall.

“It’s funny,” he said. “They seem to think we don’t have any family or loved ones to care about.”

The Republican proposal, included in Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan’s most recent budget plan, would introduce a voucher option, called Medicare Premium Support, that would direct federal funds to subsidize the purchase of private insurance plans.

Supporters, including Kuster’s opponent, U.S. Rep. Charles Bass, contend it would keep costs down by providing more consumer choice, while preserving benefits for those currently on the program.

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