|
Medicare expects
Part B premiums, which cover doctor's visits and outpatient
care, to rise 52 percent next year, which could hit around 16.5
million people.
At the same time, a lack of inflation will keep beneficiaries of
Social Security from getting an increase in the amount they
receive each month.
Because of how Medicare is structured, beneficiaries who rely
most on Social Security will not see their premiums increase -
leaving the remaining 30 percent of enrollees to pay for cost
increases.
"I am deeply concerned by how this could harm Medicare
beneficiaries. This is outrageous and senseless, and Congress
must act to fix the law," Clinton said in a statement.
"I support efforts by the Obama administration and Democratic
leaders in Congress to try to resolve this quickly."
Clinton has said that she would like to "enhance" Social
Security benefits for the most vulnerable seniors, including
women in poverty, but she has not yet detailed what those
changes could look like.
Progressives - including Clinton's main rival, Vermont Senator
Bernie Sanders - have pushed her to say she would expand
benefits.
Sanders has proposed increasing Social Security benefits,
cost-of-living adjustments and minimum benefit levels, to be
paid for by scrapping a ceiling on the amount of income
considered taxable for Social Security.
(This story has been refiled to replace "keeping" with "getting"
in third paragraph)
(Reporting by Luciana Lopez; Editing by Christian Plumb)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
|
