News Brief: Whitehouse Vows To Protect Senior Programs

More than 100 people attended a hearing at the on April 27 hosted by U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who promised to continue working to protect federal programs that provide "a critical safety net for seniors," including Social Security and Medicare.

Joined by federal and state officials — including Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations Edwin Walker of the Health and Services Administration Department's Administration on Aging; Rhode Island Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts; state Health Commissioner Christopher Koller; and AARP-RI Senior State Director Kathlen Connell — Whitehouse opened the session just after 10 a.m. with a review of the success of federal assistance programs for seniors.

"Today, the poverty rate among seniors is lower than any other age group," Whitehouse said. "This is due in no small part to the promise we have kept to make the wellbeing of our seniors a national priority."

Those programs face a "crossroads," Whitehouse explained, since the Older Americans Act — first passed in 1965 — is set to expire this year.

"I will work hard to make sure that the OAA is reauthorized and the services it supports or seniors will continue," promised Whitehouse, who serves as a member of the Senate Aging Committee and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Whitehouse also noted that a Republican proposal would cut access to health benefits for seniors and "reopen the Medicare prescription drug doughnut hole," the gap in coverage that was closed under the recent health reform law.

That plan would affect 17,000 Rhode Island seniors, Whitehouse estimated, costing them $9.5 million in 2012.

"I hope my message is clear: We will protect our promises to our seniors," said Whitehouse.

Following Whitehouse's opening remarks, two panels were scheduled to testify on the topic.

Watch for more coverage of this meeting later today on JohnstonPatch.