Retiree Leader Critical of GOP Platform

Wall Street, Insurance Companies Would Profit at Expense of Seniors

The following statement was issued today by Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, in response to the 2012 Republican Party Platform.

“In a platform badly out of touch with the needs of workers and retirees, the Republican Party is seeking to enrich Wall Street and the big health insurance companies at the expense of retirees who are trying to pay their bills and stay healthy.  The platform is a perfect fit for the most anti-senior ticket ever to be nominated by a major political party.

“The platform would reverse nearly 50 years of Medicare success by cutting benefits, delaying retirees’ eligibility, and pushing seniors toward expensive, inadequate coverage from private health insurance companies.  According to a recent analysis by the New York Times, the Romney-Ryan plan would raise out-of-pocket costs for seniors by an average of $342 per year, drain eight years’ of solvency from the Medicare Trust Fund, and take away popular new wellness and preventive benefits from seniors.

“The Republican Party is once again perpetuating the false and corrosive myth that Social Security fuels our national debt and is on the brink of bankruptcy.  Its call to raise the retirement age would be devastating for workers in blue collar and service sector jobs.  It is unconscionable for the Republican Party to try to both cut Social Security benefits for retirees and add even more tax break for millionaires and big corporations.

“At a time when middle class families everywhere worry about the cost of long-term and nursing home care, the platform would cut Medicaid and turn the program over to cash-strapped states.  This would badly jeopardize the only way over 70 percent of families can afford this type of medical care for their loved ones.


“The Alliance for Retired Americans, a four-million member grassroots advocacy organization, will be educating and mobilizing seniors across the country about how this cold, irresponsible platform threatens the well-being of current and future retirees.”


Mr. Coyle is available for media interviews by calling 202/637-5190.