Washington, DC – Here is a statement from Ethan Rome, executive director of Health Care for America Now, the nation’s leading grassroots health care advocacy organization, about Mitt Romney’s false claim that Republicans will protect Medicare and Social Security and never “go after” those programs:

“Mitt Romney has lied day after day on the campaign trail, but yesterday he topped himself when he pledged to preserve Medicare and Social Security. The truth is the exact opposite: Mitt Romney and the Republicans want to eliminate Medicare and Social Security as we know them and hand them over to Wall Street with a reckless privatization scheme. Romney is a staunch supporter of Congressman Paul Ryan’s radical budget plan to end Medicare and dramatically increase health care costs for seniors struggling to make ends meet. Ryan wants to put Medicare beneficiaries at the mercy of profit-mad private health insurance companies and force seniors to spend another $6,400 a year on health care while letting billionaires and corporations skip out on their taxes. Romney and the Republicans want to strip seniors of new drug benefits and preventive care provided by the Affordable Care Act.

“The Republicans’ Medicare privatization plan is part of the GOP's larger attack on our country's shrinking middle class and the promise of the American Dream: that if you work hard and play by the rules you can have a good job with good wages and benefits, provide a better life for your children and retire with dignity. Romney supports an extremist plan that is wrong for our country. Shame on him for lying to Florida seniors as he cheers on Ryan’s plan to take away their health care and retirement security.”

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Health Care for America Now is the nation’s leading grassroots health care advocacy organization. HCAN led the fight to win passage of health reform and to keep Congress from being steamrolled by corporate special interests.