Social Security and Medicare need fixing, but with solutions that will strengthen the programs for current seniors and future generations, several AARP Hawaii staff and volunteers said Saturday.
Social Security and Medicare need fixing, but with solutions that will strengthen the programs for current seniors and future generations, several AARP Hawaii staff and volunteers said Saturday.
Forty-one area seniors gathered in a ballroom at King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel to hear updates about the state of Social Security and Medicare — complex programs that are the foundation of retirement and health security for most Americans.
The event was a follow-up to AARP’s “You’ve Earned a Say,” a national conversation that occurred last year to learn what its members think about the programs and the proposals on the table in Washington, D.C.
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocate for people age 50 and over and has approximately 148,000 members statewide.
This free public forum will be held again on the Big Island, taking place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. Register by calling (877) 926-8300 or visiting aarp.event.com/YEASHilo.
On Saturday morning, AARP Hawaii President Gerry Silva and Director of Advocacy Steven Tam detailed how these programs are funded, the daunting challenges that exist and how various proposals will impact Hawaii residents. They stressed Social Security and Medicare are not entitlements, but earned benefits that Americans pay for through taxes.
Tam also encouraged the participation of people of all ages at the AARP forums, saying Social Security and Medicare are “intergenerational issues that don’t just affect people age 50 and older.” The information shared is valuable whether used now or later down the road, he added.
According to Tam, attendees will have a better understanding of how the lives of their neighbors, friends and family member are affected by Social Security and Medicare.
He urged residents to overcome the feelings of being powerless and to share their stories with lawmakers to encourage the protection of the programs.
Nationwide, the number of Medicare beneficiaries is expected to double from 40 million to 81 million people between 2000 and 2030. Medicare spending by the federal government is projected to increase from $650 billion last year to $1 trillion in 2022.
Meanwhile, health care costs continue to climb at a rapid rate, much faster than people’s wages.
Hawaii has more than 217,000 Medicare beneficiaries and at least half spend nearly $5,000 a year, or approximately 17 percent of their income, on out-of-pocket health care costs, Silva said.
Instead of forcing seniors to pay more or cutting benefits, Silva gave an overview of “responsible solutions” for Medicare.
Solutions included reducing prescription drug costs by letting Medicare negotiate lower drug prices; improving coordination of care to prevent hospital readmissions and reduce medical errors; making better use of information technology to reduce waste, fraud and abuse; and cracking down on waste and inefficiency by focusing on improving care rather than unnecessary tests and procedures.
There is a misconception that Social Security is going bankrupt, Tam said. As it is now, Social Security can pay full benefits until 2033, when then it decreases to 75 percent. Social Security makes up 50 percent or more of income for more than half of Hawaii residents 65 and over, and nearly one-quarter say it’s their only source of income, he added.
There is a push for a budget deal that would make deep cuts in Social Security to reduce the federal deficit by adopting the so-called Chained CPI, or consumer price index, a new cost of living measure that grows more slowly than the current calculation.
Changing the cost-of-living adjustment would have an impact not just on seniors, but also people with disabilities, veterans and family members who receive benefits from Social Security. It would cut Social Security benefits by $127 billion, costing the average senior more than $20,000 in the first 10 years alone, Tam said.
Such an action would hurt seniors on fixed incomes and those already stretched by the rising cost of groceries, health care and utilities. AARP opposes this proposal because the organization thinks it’s unfair to cut hard-earned benefits for seniors who will have no time to recover from the loss of income.
It also dislikes that, with the Chained CPI, cuts get deeper every year, Tam said. For example, a 30-year-old veteran with severe disabilities would see his benefits reduced annually by $1,425 at age 45, $2,341 at age 55 and $3,231 at age 65.
Throughout the forum, Tam and Silva asked the audience to participate in real-time polls where they used special clickers to punch in their answers to various questions about Social Security and Medicare. Of the 39 responses Saturday, 92 percent opposed the Chained CPI, 3 percent supported it and 5 percent were unsure.
Those interested in finding out how much the proposed Chained CPI would impact current or future benefits can used AARP’s calculator, available at aarp.org/whatyoulose.
AARP representatives also shared their delight for legislation passed this session that supports the organization’s long-term care priorities in Hawaii.
It included the authorization of $1.4 million for Aging and Disability Resource Centers and $8.4 million for Kupuna Care, a state-funded program that gives seniors who aren’t eligible for Medicaid access to in-home services.
There was also excitement for the $380,000 Public Long-Term Care Feasibility and Actuarial Study, which will examine the idea of creating a public long-term care insurance for the state’s working population.