Sherrod Brown: “What if Congress broke Medicare apart? Congress would tell seniors to look to the private insurance market if they want…”

“What if Congress broke Medicare apart? Congress would tell seniors to look to the private insurance market if they want to piece it back together... If the goal of this Congress truly is to help America's senior citizens, this bill simply is not a real option. Medicare came into being because half of all seniors could not get coverage. Medicare, a nationwide plan with a risk pool of 39 million strong, is a stable, reliable means of ensuring coverage for our seniors. Medicare works because it guarantees the same basic benefits to all beneficiaries regardless of where they live, regardless of their income, regardless of their social status, regardless of their gender. It is fair. H.R. 4680 costs $40 billion.”