INDIANAPOLIS – At a press conference on Friday afternoon, Rep. Phil GiaQuinta and Councilwoman Sharon Tucker criticized a plan by Congressman Todd Young that would hurt Hoosier seniors by advocating for reckless ideas to end the Medicare guarantee and balance the budget on the backs of Hoosier seniors.

GiaQuinta and Tucker were joined by Marvin Ross, a retired teacher from Fort Wayne, who discussed, “Indiana Democratic Party Report: The Young Plan and Its Harmful Effect On Seniors,” – a memo highlighting Congressman Young’s history of voting to turn Medicare into a voucher program and increase health care costs for Hoosier seniors.

“It’s unacceptable that Todd Young helped to draft a reckless plan that would steal hard-earned benefits away from Hoosier seniors,” said Councilwoman Sharon Tucker. “Congressman Young has been pushing this dangerous plan that increases seniors’ health care costs for years, and we know he’d push for it if he was a Senator. Hoosier seniors simply can’t afford Todd Young.”

According the Congressional Budget Office, Congressman Todd Young’s plan would increase out-of-pocket health care costs for seniors by $6,400 per year, a price hike that most seniors can’t afford.

“Congressman Todd Young has demonstrated where his real priorities lie, and they are not with Hoosiers,” said Rep. Phil GiaQuinta. “Congressman Young’s plan would shift Medicare costs to seniors and get rid of the guarantee of Medicare that Hoosier seniors have paid into and are counting on. That disastrous plan just goes to show that Todd Young looks out for the special interests over Hoosier seniors.”

Young’s plan could also raise the cost of prescription drugs for more than 1 million Hoosiers on Medicare and force Hoosier seniors to pay an extra $120 million over the next decade.

“Many of my family members, friends, and old coworkers cannot afford the extra cost that Todd Young’s plan would impose on us,” said Marvin Ross, retired teacher from Fort Wayne. “Congressman Young cares more about his political career than regular Hoosiers. We shouldn’t have to choose between our medication and our groceries, or medication and our mortgage. But that’s something Congressman Young doesn’t understand.”

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