Palmer Bill Decouples Social Security and Medicare, Allows Seniors to Choose Their Own Healthcare

Washington, D.C. – Following the introduction of the Retirement Freedom Act, Representative Gary Palmer (AL-06) released the following statement: 

“Under current laws, seniors are unable to make healthcare decisions for themselves. This is completely unacceptable and why I’m reintroducing the Retirement Freedom Act,” said Rep. Palmer. “People should not be forced to give up their private insurance because their Social Security is being held hostage. Our senior citizens deserve to be empowered to take more control over their own medical decisions. Thankfully, this bill would do just that.”

If passed, the Retirement Freedom Act would allow seniors to keep their private insurance without losing Social Security benefits by decoupling Social Security and Medicare. The Trump administration issued an executive order that accomplished this goal. Unfortunately, this legislation is needed once again due to the Biden administration revoking the executive order and reattaching Social Security and Medicare. Now, seniors must forfeit Social Security if they do not enroll in Medicare Part A. This link between the two programs forces Medicare enrollment, which is an overreach by the Social Security Administration and a serious restriction on seniors' freedom of choice in their healthcare.

A link to the text of the legislation can be found here.