You Earned This: The Social Security & Medicare Podcast!

This is the first episode in a special series of voter education podcasts about Social Security for 2024!  Our guest is labor economist, author, and columnist Kathryn Edwards. She explains why this New Deal program is a Good Deal for Americans of all ages - including younger adults. This is all about why we must protect Social Security --- and vote accordingly! 

What do Social Security, Robert F. Kennedy, Sr., and the Brooklyn Dodgers have in common? The answer is:  Bill Arnone.  In part two of our interview, the former aide to RFK Sr. and newly retired CEO of the National Academy of Social Insurance says Senator Kennedy was quite the advocate for Social Security & Medicare.  Bill reminisces about what it was like growing up in the Bronx and rooting for t...

As outgoing CEO of the National Academy of Social Insurance, Bill Arnone looks back on his many decades as a thought leader on retirement security.  A former staffer for Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Sr., Bill has worked to raise the public's knowledge and appreciation of Social Security. In this wide-ranging interview, he tells us that it's time to hand-off his life's work to a new generation of adv...

Alison Barkoff is head of the U.S. Administration for Community Living... and a self-described, lifelong "advocrat" for seniors and people with disabilities. In this episode, we chat with Alison about her passion for helping uplift these populations --- and the Biden administration's commitment to turn Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) from a "side show" into the "centerpiece" of elder care...

Half of Medicare beneficiaries did not visit the dentist during the past year because they couldn't afford to.  Melissa Burroughs of the advocacy group Care Quest says neglecting oral health can contribute to serious health issues in older people --- including Alzheimer's, heart disease, and diabetes.  Worse yet, traditional Medicare does not cover routine dental care. As Melissa tells us, it's ti...

Raising the retirement age is "the stupidest and most dishonest fix" for Social Security, says L.A. Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning columinist Michael Hiltzik in part 2 of our conversation.  In this episode, Michael breaks down the harmful conservative proposals for addressing Social Security's financial challenges --- including means testing and cutting benefits for younger adults. "It makes no sen...

Pulitzer Prize-winning L.A. Times columnist Michael Hiltzik is sick and tired of the mainstream media getting it wrong when reporting on Social Security's finances. The gloom & doom headlines accompanying the latest trustees report are a prime expample of reporters' misunderstanding of how Social Security (and Medicare) really work --- feeding into a false narrative that undermines Americans' earn...

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has a plan to keep Social Security and Medicare financially strong for generations... without cutting benefits.  He sat down with our president, Max Richtman, to talk about the difference between his plan and GOP proposals to cut both programs... plus President Biden's actions to bring down prescription drug prices for seniors!  READ THE TRANSCRIPT HERE::: https://www.nc...

Meet freshman Rhode Island congressman Gabe Amo, who fills some sizable shoes as the successor to former Rep David Cicilline - a stalwart for seniors. At 36 years-old, Rep. Amo has a clear vision for protecting older Americans, inspired by growing up with a mother who was a nurse in Rhode Island nursing homes. We get his take on the future of Social Security, Medicare and prescription drug costs -...

USA Today dubbed the generation born in the early 1960s the "Beatlemania Boomers." New research suggests these younger boomers have less retirement security than their older counterparts.  Anqi Chen of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College explains why retirement may be a Hard Day's Night for this age group --- compared to older Boomers and the younger generations... underscoring th...

Judy Stein, founder and executive director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, has made it her life's work to ensure that Americans reap the full benefits of Medicare --- a program that 65 million people depend on for health coverage.  In this episode, Judy answers some crucial questions about the present and future of Medicare --- including:  how to improve the program to meet seniors' current n...

Our president, Max Richtman, is known as The Mythbuster because he excels at dispelling misinformation about Social Security. In part 1, Max takes on several pernicious myths including:  "Social Security is going bankrupt" and "Politicians are stealing from Social Security," among others!  READ THE TRANSCRIPT HERE::: https://www.ncpssm.org/documents/transcript/your-earned-this-podcast-transcript-1...

Rationing medicine, cutting pills in half, not filling prescriptions. That is what too many Americans have been forced to do because of the soaring cost of prescription drugs. Big Pharma claims it can't afford to lower drug prices, but spends billions on advertising and marketing. But help is on the way. Hazel Law of Families USA tells us how the Inflation Reduction Act is already lowering America...

Our elder care system can be confusing, right?  Especially when it comes to home health care. You almost have to be an expert to know the difference between the myriad kinds of home health care --- and who pays for it all! Medicare? Medicaid? Long-term care insurance?  Luckily, we have an expert on the podcast this week, Ann Horton, Former Executive Director of the Home Care Association of Marylan...

As of March 1, millionaires are finished paying into Social Security for the rest of the year.  That's because of the Social Security's payroll wage cape. So while Elon Musk, Tim Cook of Apple, Rupert Murdoch, and Charles Koch are done contributing to the system for 2024, the rest of us have to continue paying through the end of the year! Our Social Security expert, Maria Freese, explains why it's...

If Franklin D. Roosevelt was the father of Social Security, Rep. John Larson (D-CT) is the godfather. He works harder than anyone on the Hill to boost FDR's legacy program. His Social Security 2100 Act would enhance benefits and keep the program financially strong for decades. Congressman Larson joins us to talk about the future of Social Security, including the good, the bad, and the ugly ideas c...

Seniors need every dollar of their retirement and health benefits. But House Republicans are pushing to create a fiscal commission that could recommend cuts to Social Security and Medicare. The White House has called such commissions "death panels" for seniors' earned benefits, because they give politicians political cover to slash them. Our legislative director, Dan Adcock, tells us why fiscal co...

There's a lot at stake for seniors in the 2024 elections. Our political action committee (PAC) is busy endorsing candidates for Congress. How do we choose who to support --- and why is this an existential election for Social Security and Medicare? Our PAC director, Luke Warren, explains it all in this week's episode of "You Earned This."  READ THE TRANSCRIPT HERE::: https://www.ncpssm.org/document...

The political right just won't stop claiming that Social Security is somehow a bad deal for younger adults. It's part of a 40-year scheme to divide the generations in order to weaken our number one social insurance program. This week's guest, Dean Baker of the Center for Economic & Policy Research, busts the "greedy geezers" myth --- and explains why right-wing messaging on Social Security permeat...

Big Pharma rang in the New Year by hiking drug prices. Soaring drug costs are painful for seniors living on fixed incomes. But seniors on Medicare should be getting some much-needed relief from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Special guest Stacy Sanders tells us how the Biden administration and the IRA are saving older Americans money on their life-saving medications. Stacy is Counselor to the...

In part 2 of our conversation about Ageism, demographer Jay Olshansky debunks claims that Joe Biden is "too old" to be president.  But pundits and politicians like Nikki Haley continue to peddle the falsehood that chronological age is a disqualifying factor for holding high office. "This is classic ageism," says Jay, with plenty of evidence to back it up. READ THE TRANSCRIPT HERE::: https://www.nc...

Apparently it's still okay to devalue and ridicule older people in our society. Ageism creeps into everything from personal interactions to the debate over who is qualified to be president of the United States. Find out why --- and what we can do about it --- in part 1 of our interview with expert on aging S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois. READ THE TRANSCRIPT HERE::: https://www.ncps...

The last thing seniors on fixed incomes need is a letter from Social Security saying they owe the program money because of accidental overpayments of benefits. Special guest Kathleen Romig of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explains this frustrating phenomenon, what beneficiaries can do if they receive an overpayment notice, and how the Social Security Adminisration might be able to fix...

Medicare Advantage inusrance companies deluge seniors with misleading ads featuring celebrities like Joe Namath, Jimmy Walker and William Shatner, urging patients to sign up for privatized Medicare plans. But they don't tell customers that they're joining a glorified HMO with limited networks of providers --- and that they may be denied care. Our senior health policy expert Anne Montgomery joins u...

In our very first episode, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's grandson, Jim Roosevelt, talks with host Walter Gottlieb about his grandfather's greatest legacy, the Social Security program --- and the troubled agency (SSA) that administers benefits for 71 million beneficiaries every year. Jim also shares memories about his grandmother, Eleanor Roosevelt, including her committment to women's retireme...