79% of Seniors Oppose Deficit-Linked Medicare Cuts

Even Small Changes in Medicare Program Can Have Potentially Dramatic Consequences for Seniors

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Seniors are significantly concerned about the potential impact to their health coverage if the federal deficit reduction plan includes changes to Medicare benefits.  In a recent survey, 81 percent of seniors (aged 65+) who have Medicare coverage indicated that having to pay any more for Medicare benefits in the future would cause either a heavy or serious financial burden on them, causing them to make tough sacrifices.

The survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of RetireSafe and the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP) from July 21-25, 2011 among 354 U.S. adults ages 65 and older.*  

Sacrifices that seniors for whom paying more for their coverage would be a serious or heavy burden included going to the doctor less (59%), postponing medical procedures or tests (58%), rationing medications (37%), failing to get prescriptions filled (20%), returning to work to cover additional costs (18%) and discontinuing Part D coverage (12%).

"As Congress considers legislation on the debt ceiling, these concerns of seniors should factor into what they decide on the future of Medicare," says Robert B. Blancato, NANASP's executive director.  "It is not shared sacrifice when seniors are forced to choose between maintaining their health and gambling with it by not doing regular doctor visits or getting required tests."

When asked whether they would support or oppose changing Medicare coverage in order to reduce the federal budget deficit, 79 percent of seniors said that they oppose changes.  Only 10 percent of women aged 65+ support the idea of changing Medicare to reduce the deficit.

"It is evident from this survey that most older Americans don't want to use Medicare resources to reduce the federal budget, which is not surprising given that eight out of 10 tell us that forcing them to pay more for their Medicare benefits would put a serious burden on them," says Thair Phillips, president of RetireSafe.  "As the factions in Washington wheel and deal to arrive at a solution to the nation's budget woes, they need to understand that our nation's vulnerable older Americans are the group least able to bear the weight of righting the wrongs of Congress's decades of financial mismanagement."

RetireSafe is a 400,000 strong grassroots organization that advocates and educates on behalf of America's seniors on issues regarding Social Security, Medicare, health and financial well-being. RetireSafe expects its government to keep its promises, protect our nation, and maintain the safety and personal freedoms of its citizens.

The National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP) is a national membership organization for persons across the country working to provide older adults healthful food and nutrition through community-based services. NANASP's mission is to strengthen through advocacy and education those who help older Americans.  Its vision is to reshape the future of nutrition and healthy aging.

*Methodology

The survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of RetireSafe and the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs from July 21-15, 2011 among 354 U.S. adults ages 65 and older.  This online survey was not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Thair Phillips (contact information below).

SOURCE RetireSafe