Republican Budget Would Devastate Pittsburgh’s Seniors

Pittsburgh, PA – Today, U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA-14) released a report on the impact that the budget passed by the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives would have on the older Americans in Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District.

• Eliminating new preventive care benefits for 113,000 Medicare beneficiaries in the district. 
• Forcing 113,000 Medicare beneficiaries in the district who are currently enrolled in traditional Medicare to pay thousands of dollars more in premiums to remain in traditional Medicare after Medicare becomes a voucher (“premium support”) program. 
• Reducing coverage for 20,200 Medicare beneficiaries who rely on Medicaid to supplement their Medicare coverage, potentially denying them over $710 million in health benefits. 
• Jeopardizing nursing home care for 1,600 district residents whose expenses are paid by Medicaid. 
• Increasing prescription drug costs for 11,400 Medicare beneficiaries in the district who enter the Part D donut hole, forcing them to pay an extra $105 million for drugs over the next decade. 
• Raising food costs for 12,700 district households with seniors who rely on food stamps by as much as $1,100 per year or eliminate food assistance for many of these households entirely. 
• Threatening affordable housing programs that provide rental support for 3,300 district households with seniors. 
• Placing 91,000 district seniors at increased risk of fraud, scams, and elder abuse by cutting as much as $6 billion in funding for federal consumer protection and law enforcement.