Tester meets with seniors in Missoula about SS, Medicare
James Dobson
(Missoula Current) While speaking with a group of senior citizens Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester received an endorsement from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
Tester, locked in a tight race against Republican Tim Sheehy, spoke to a crowd of more than 50 seniors at Garden City Harvest in Missoula on Tuesday afternoon, saying this endorsement reflects his votes to protect federal healthcare programs.
“Social Security and Medicare is off limits,” Tester said. “That is a hard stop.”
The endorsement came from NCPSSM president and CEO Max Richtman, who said Tester’s history of defending seniors is well-known.
“He’s right on all the issues,” Richtman said. “Jon Tester’s record in the U.S. Senate is 100 percent on senior issues.”
Speaking to supporters at the event, Tester touted his votes to cap insulin prices, allow Medicare to negotiate prices of prescription drugs, and fund rural healthcare.
Tester, a 68-year-old farmer from Big Sandy, has served in the U.S. Senate since 2006. His GOP opponent Tim Sheehy, 38, is a wealthy businessman and former Navy SEAL. In a debate televised on Montana PBS Monday, Sheehy said he wants to allow some federal healthcare services to be privatized.
“We’ve got to continue to make sure Medicare and Medicaid are funded,” Sheehy said. “But private healthcare is going to be our answer to make sure we continue to provide those key services to rural Americans.”
Tester jabbed back at Sheehy’s comments Tuesday, saying his opponent wants ‘complete privatization’ of Medicare, and that this change would hurt many Montanans.
“There’s certain things you don’t touch in Washington D.C.,” Tester said. “That’s Social Security and Medicare”.
Bette Cunningham, 89, attended the event and said she plans to vote for Tester because she is afraid of what will happen to healthcare prices under Sheehy’s plan.
“I don’t trust Tim Sheehy,” Cunningham said. “Jon Tester is a good, basic man who cares about the rest of us.”
If Tester wins reelection, he may stop a Republican takeover of the Senate. The race is projected to be the most expensive in Montana history.