Seniors

America’s senior citizens earned the dignity of a secure retirement after paying into Medicare and Social Security throughout their working lives. Medicare is one of the best tools the government has to help older Americans access the health care resources they need, and Social Security has been one of our country’s most successful government programs, providing a lifeline to millions of Americans and offering them critical support for a secure retirement. Senator Van Hollen is working to protect both of these essential programs and ensure their long-term solvency so that they are available for current and future generations. That effort goes hand-in-hand with his commitment to cutting prescription drug prices and lowering the costs of everyday expenses for our seniors. 

For decades, Americans have depended on the Social Security benefits they’ve earned. Yet this vital program has been under attack, threatening working families’ financial security. When he served in the House of Representatives, then-Congressman Van Hollen blocked efforts to privatize parts of Social Security. Today, Senator Van Hollen is working with colleagues to get landmark Social Security legislation through Congress that would increase and expand retirement, disability, and survivor benefits and shore up Social Security’s long-term solvency.

Seniors also deserve a better deal on health care. In Maryland and across the country, they are burdened by the skyrocketing prices of essential and life-saving medications. Senator Van Hollen is working to improve our health care system for seniors, and prescription drug affordability is a key pillar of that effort. Allowing Medicare to negotiate the best possible price for prescription drugs that seniors need is a common-sense reform that will help control costs for the millions of Americans struggling to afford care. And with over 7 million seniors relying on Medicaid’s vital services that extend opportunity and healthy living, Senator Van Hollen has fought against any effort to slash funding from the program – and is advocating for an expansion of Medicaid in-home services. The Senator is also fighting to pass legislation that would prevent drug makers from increasing the price of prescription drugs above the rate of inflation under Medicare Parts B and D. All Americans – privately insured and uninsured – would benefit from that the cap on price increases, and Senator Van Hollen is committed to getting those crucial provisions across the finish line. He is working on multiple fronts to lower the cost of prescription medication and has introduced first-of-its-kind legislation to address skyrocketing drug prices by ensuring that the prices of drugs developed using federally-funded research are set at reasonable levels.

Senator Van Hollen has also led efforts to protect older Marylanders from financial fraud, which costs seniors an estimated $3 billion each year. The Senator has a track record of success in that fight, and he is building bridges across party lines to protect our seniors from fraud. He has joined forces with a group of bipartisan colleagues to craft legislation specifically designed to combat fraudulent scams aimed at older Americans, and he has also helped pass legislation to crack down on illegal robocalls, worked to prevent medical providers from going after patients’ incomes in order to recoup debt, and introduced new legislation that would protect consumers from online free trial scams.

In addition, Senator Van Hollen is working with colleagues to accelerate the discovery of new treatments and cures to diseases that impact virtually every American family – including heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. He pushed to establish and maintain the Alzheimer’s Semipostal Stamp, which has raised significant funds for Alzheimer’s research. And Senator Van Hollen believes it’s time to leverage the full power of American research, medicine, and innovation to make a quantum leap forward in our fight to defeat Alzheimer’s, and many other diseases, once and for all – and has met with President Biden to discuss advancing these efforts. To meet this mission, he has continued to lead the way for increased investment in the National Institutes of Health, headquartered in Bethesda. 

Senator Van Hollen is committed to keeping the promises we’ve made to our nation’s seniors, and he continues to focus his efforts in Congress on prioritizing their needs – both within Maryland and across the country.