Friends -

Before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law more than 55 years ago, about half of our senior citizens were uninsured and roughly 35 percent lived in poverty.

Today, everyone in America aged 65 and older is guaranteed health care benefits through Medicare regardless of their income or medical condition, the poverty rate for seniors is less than 10 percent, and Medicare is one of the most popular and successful government programs in our nation’s history.

That is the good news.

The bad news is, since Johnson signed that bill, Medicare has never covered such basic health needs as hearing, dental, and vision.

We can and must change that through the reconciliation legislation that Congress is now considering.

Maybe it is just me, but I happen to believe in the radical notion that people should be able to grow old and hear their grandchildren, have teeth in their mouths, and be able to see the world around them.

I happen to believe that in the richest country in the history of the world, our parents should be able to live out their lives in dignity and security.

I also happen to believe that we can get this done now, and that it is exactly what the American people want. Poll after poll shows expanding Medicare to cover hearing, dental and vision is widely popular, strongly supported by Democrats, Independents and Republicans. A recent Morning Consult poll indicated that it had the support of 84 percent of all voters, including 79 percent of all Republicans.

This is a case where good policy makes good politics, and where good politics gets that good policy implemented.

Here's why we need to expand Medicare:

In America today hearing loss affects more than 40 percent of adults eligible for Medicare and has significant health impacts. Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that mild hearing loss doubled dementia risk. Moderate loss tripled risk, and people with severe hearing impairment were five times more likely to develop dementia. In other words, people with hearing loss gradually lose contact with the world around them.

Seniors who experience hearing loss also suffer from more depression and loneliness and are often more socially isolated. And according to the National Council on Aging, increased hearing loss among seniors doubled the rate of falls and results in decreased mobility, ability to walk, and balance.

What’s more, hearing aids have evolved significantly since Medicare was signed. Today’s hearing aids are smaller, customized to an individual’s needs, and provide immediate relief.

Yet, in the richest country in the world, the outrageous reality is the 75 percent of seniors who suffer from hearing loss do not have a hearing aid because of the prohibitive cost.

That has got to change.

Vision loss is also a major health care problem for our nation’s seniors.

According to the CDC, “vision loss is associated with higher prevalence of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, depression, and social isolation.” And seniors with moderate to severe vision loss were “more likely to report diabetes, heart disease, and stroke than those without vision loss.”

Approximately 1 in 3 people have some form of vision-reducing eye disease by the time they turn 65.

Yet Medicare still does not cover our seniors' vision needs well enough.

We simply cannot tolerate that any longer.

But it's not just hearing and vision. Even more problematic for seniors in this country is the outrageous cost of dental care and the fact that millions of older Americans cannot afford to visit a dentist's office.

The result: Incredibly, more than a quarter of senior citizens in this country are missing all of their natural teeth. And many without adequate dental care end up getting teeth extracted because it’s cheaper than getting a tooth properly treated.

Now tell me: how would you feel smiling and laughing or trying to talk to your friends when some or all of your teeth are missing?

A lack of dental care has significant health impacts as well. A lack of teeth means many of our seniors are unable to properly digest the food that they eat. It means greater risk of heart attack, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis and worsened diabetes.

Yet still, 55 years after the passage of Medicare, nearly two-thirds of our seniors have no dental insurance and no idea how they will afford to go to a dentist.

That is a disgrace, and it must end.

Now, I can hear many of my colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle and even some Democrats wailing: “But Bernie, how are we going to pay for it?”

I have good news for them.

Every American understands that we are paying, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.

In some instances we are paying ten times more for the same exact drugs people are able to buy in Canada.

Now, in every other major country on earth, governments negotiate prices with the drug companies.

In America, the Veterans Administration does it, too.

Only Medicare, because of the power of the pharmaceutical industry, is prohibited from taking this obvious step.

Now, this idea may not be popular among Republicans and some Democrats who accept obscene amounts of money in campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry, but it is extremely popular among the American people.

Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and bring down the cost of prescription drugs in this country is an idea that enjoys the support of 90 percent of the American people.

It is also an idea that would save us at least $500 billion — more than enough to cover the cost of dental, eyeglasses, and hearing under Medicare, as well as lowering the eligibility age to 62.

This is the very definition of a win-win-win situation.

Seniors pay lower prices for prescription drugs while receiving hearing, vision, and dental care while we lower prescription drug costs for all Americans.

It is insane to think that we have to fight for these obvious steps.

It is insane to think that any Democrat would oppose these common sense steps.

But here we are...and fight we must.

And that starts with making your voice heard:

Sign my petition: tell Congress to expand Medicare to offer hearing, dental, and vision for our nation’s seniors and pay for it by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices like every other major country on earth.

What does it mean to age with dignity?

If you’re unable to hear your partner’s voice, or unable to see the world around you, or are made to live with severe dental pain — is that dignity?

Let us use this reconciliation bill to expand Medicare to cover hearing aids, dental care, and eyeglasses.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

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