Foster's Daily Democrat - Shaheen Touts Medicare Plan to Area Seniors

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Foster's Daily Democrat - Shaheen Touts Medicare Plan to Area Seniors
By: Charles McMahon

Seacoast seniors along with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jeanne Shaheen broke out into a ballad of "God Bless America" on Wednesday, prior to the former Governor speaking on topics ranging from health care to the fuel crunch.

The event was kicked off by Tery Arens, one of the many seniors in attendance, after she expressed interest in kicking off Shaheen's visit with a song. Gripping four American flags, Arens played the role of conductor as the crowd and Shaheen sang in the age-old ballad.

Gathered at the Parrot Avenue Place Senior Citizen Center, Shaheen spoke to her potential constituents about the recent attempts in Washington to cut Medicare access for nearly 200,000 seniors statewide.

"Yesterday, I was glad to see the Senate override George Bush's veto of a bill to protect medicare access for 200,000 New Hampshire seniors, veterans and individuals with disabilites.," Shaheen said.

In the midst of a bid for a seat on the Senate, currently held by John Sununu, Shaheen accused President Bush and his allies in Congress, including Sununu of standing for insurance company profits over health care for state families.

"In the Senate I will work to lower health care costs by increasing efficiency in the system and improving chronic disease management. We need a health care system that is based on wellness, not sickness."

Following her brief speech, Shaheen opened up the floor and fielded questions from the seniors in hopes of hearing their concerns.

With her hands cupped so as to make sure the former Governor could hear her, a soft spoken Alice Burton questioned what Shaheen thought about the growing fuel prices.
"That and healthcare are the questions I think I answer most," said Shaheen.

In addition to cracking down on speculation by oil companies over price increases, Shaheen said she would work to increase domestic production in an effort to drive costs down and make it affordable for families to fill their tanks and heat their homes.

Shaheen said it is not simply a short term answer either and the issue must be looked at in a long-term manner in order to make more options for alternative energy available for people.

By and large, the name of the game on Wedneday was health care. If elected Shaheen said she would work as hard as she did as Governor to ensure it becomes affordable and accesible.

"It is time we had a Senator in Washington who stands up for our seniors, not for insurance companies. In the U.S. Senate, you can count on me to stand up for seniors," said Shaheen.

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