Ann McLane Kuster believes the United States owns a great deal to its Seniors and will fight in Congress to protect Social Security, Medicare and the full range of rights and benefits they deserve after a lifetime of hard work.

Social Security

Social Security has kept millions of seniors and the disabled out of poverty for generations and it needs to be made stronger in a way that does not damage it in the process.

Fifteen years ago, the Social Security Trust Fund was track to continue paying out full benefits through 2029.  By the end of the boom in the 1990s, it was up to 2041 and, now, with our economy weakened and more people receiving their benefits, we’re back down to 2037. So, Annie believes the single most important thing we can do to strengthen social security and Medicare is to continue doing everything we can to get people working again and strengthen the economy.

The second most important thing we can do is stop those, like Congressman Bass, who want to privatize social security and replace our social safety net with risky private accounts that would cost us more than $2 trillion in transition costs.

Beyond that, Annie supports the President’s decision to form a bipartisan commission to come up with concrete plans to deal with a number of issues, like Social Security and Medicare, related to the country’s fiscal health.  She looks forward to hearing the bipartisan commission’s suggestions.

That said, Annie opposes cutting benefits, raising the retirement age or levying additional taxes on the middle class to reduce the federal budget deficit. 

Medicare Fraud

This year’s Health Care Reform legislation included a number of provisions that were good first steps to curbing Medicare fraud, such as empowering the Secretary of Health and Human Services to hold back reimbursements to durable medical products suppliers for products like wheelchairs or canes for up to 90 days to ensure that they aren’t fraudulent.

However, Annie believes that even more should be done - like increasing penalties and giving authorities more tools to go after scam artists - to reduce the $55 million in improper Medicare payments made each year.

Annie knows that one of the biggest challenges facing seniors on Medicare is having adequate access to high-quality physicians.  One of the major reasons for this difficulty is because many Doctors limit the number of Medicare patients they’re willing to take because of the uncertainty created by flawed Medicare reimbursement formulas. 

This past year’s health care reform did a great deal to ensure that seniors on Medicare of have better access to high-quality doctors by eliminating upcoming 21% pay cuts for physicians and investing in programs, like the National Health Services Corps, to ensure that more doctors are available in underserved communities.  Annie hopes to work in Congress to continue the work being done to stabilize Medicare’s payment policies for doctors and will fight to ensure that every Medicare patient has access to good physicians.

Born and raised in Concord, Ann McLane Kuster has a long history as a community activist, author, public policy advocate, and attorney with deep roots in the Granite State.  She worked with New Hampshire colleges to create the UNIQUE 529 College Savings Program to help families save for their children to attend college, and worked with a coalition of health care providers to create the Medication Bridge Program that distributes free medication to New Hampshire families and seniors who cannot afford the high cost of prescription drugs.  She has served as a board member or advisor to the NH Charitable Foundation, the Trust for Public Lands, Child and Family Services of New Hampshire, the United Way, and many other community groups.

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