Marco Rubio: “for me, Medicare is not a political talking point. My parents immigrated to the United States in the late 1950s. They…”

“for me, Medicare is not a political talking point. My parents immigrated to the United States in the late 1950s. They worked hard for over 40 years to provide their children the chance to do all the things they themselves could not. But they never made much money. As a result, they retired with precious little in savings. Medicare was and is the only way they could access health care. When my father got sick, Medicare paid for his numerous hospital stays. And as he reached the end of life, Medicare allowed him to die with dignity by paying for his hospice care. Like most 80-year-olds my mother has several age-related ailments. Without the access to quality health care that Medicare pays for, I cannot imagine what life would be like for her. America needs Medicare. We need it to continue without any benefit reductions for those like my mother currently in the system. And we need it to survive for my generation and my children's generation. But Medicare is going bankrupt. Anyone who says it is not is simply lying. And anyone who is in favor of doing nothing to deal with this fact is in favor of bankrupting it. Medicare will go broke in as little as 9 years. No one likes this news, but it is the undeniable truth. And the sooner we begin to deal with it, the better off we are all going to be. My goals are simple. First, I will not support any plan that changes Medicare for people like my mother who are currently on the plan.…”