Medicare

Why does Medicare matter?

Medicare provides health insurance to 40 million older Americans and 8 million people with disabilities. Without this important insurance program, our country’s oldest and most vulnerable citizens would be left without health insurance at a time when they need it most.

We all have a stake in Medicare.

Medicare is a critical insurance program for all Americans. Most of us, regardless of our current income, will enroll in Medicare when we are older or if we become disabled. And by insuring the health care needs of the elderly, Medicare also relieves younger generations of the financial burden of shouldering their parents’ growing health care costs.

Medicare’s future is up to us.

Like all health insurers, Medicare grapples with rising health care costs. As our population ages, Medicare will have to cover a larger number of people. How our nation addresses these challenges will determine what Medicare looks like in the future and what kind of protections it provides for the people who rely on it.

Families USA works to preserve and improve the protections that Medicare provides us.

Health care costs should not be shifted to those who can least afford them. That’s why we work to protect low income people with Medicare—we promote changes in federal policy to expand enrollment in programs that serve Medicare beneficiaries with limited incomes.

For years, we have joined national and state advocacy organizations to beat back proposals that increase costs for beneficiaries by shrinking Medicare. In partnership with those groups, we work with federal officials to ensure that changes to Medicare meet the needs of the people it serves.