Take Action to Prevent the Privatization of Medicare!

TO:       Local Presidents
FROM:  Matt Jacobs, Regional Staff Director
DATE:   December 8, 2016
RE:        Take Action to Prevent the Privatization
               of Medicare!______________________________
 
This past week, House Speaker Paul Ryan – whose budget plan has included cuts to Medicare benefits for years now – made it clear that he is ready to pursue options to privatize Medicare. 

President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) – who wants to destroy Medicare – signals that Trump is preparing to back away from his pre-election promise to protect this vital program. 

Please urge your members to sign an AFL-CIO petition to their members of Congress demanding that they oppose any efforts to privatize Medicare or slash benefits, both of which will have the devastating effect of greatly shifting the cost of medical care to elderly Americans. 
 
The petition may be found at the following link:

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-your-congress-members-to-oppose-any-efforts-to-cut-medicare-benefits?sp_ref=251161708.48.177354.e.0.2&source=email 
 
Information about Rep. Price’s radical positions on Medicare, the ACA and other parts of the government healthcare safety net may be found at the following link.  Please tell your members to read this.  It will give them a clear sense of what’s coming down the road at us.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/30/opinion/tom-price-a-radical-choice-for-health-secretary.html?_r=0
 
MJ/df
cwa1141
 
 
 

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