Democratic Party release: Steelman would vote to end Medicare

For the past several days, the Missouri Democratic Party has been conducting a Sarah Steelman watch, waiting to see when the former state treasurer and current U. S. Senate candidate would say if he supports the economic plan submitted by Rep. Paul Ryan, which would make radical cuts to Medicare. The Democratic Party issued the following news release Friday:

Senate Candidate Sarah Steelman announced during a virtual town hall in Poplar Bluff, Mo., that she would have voted for the Republican Plan to End Medicare. It is Steelman’s fifth different position on the issue in the last 48 hours, and comes after 11 days of prodding from the Missouri Democratic Party.

“The Republican Plan to End Medicare would have a devastating impact on Missouri's economy and seniors. A vote for the bill is the same as a vote to End Medicare. It's no wonder Sarah spent weeks trying to hide her position on this,” asked Caitlin Legacki, Missouri Democratic Party spokeswoman.

Under the Republican plan to end Medicare, Missouri’s seniors could expect the following changes to the care they rely on:

Missouri Seniors would pay an additional $1 billion in prescription drug costs over the next 10 years and $50 million in 2012 alone
Out-of-pocket expenses would double, increasing costs from $6,300 to nearly $13,000 per year
Life-saving nursing home care would be cut by nearly $10 billion over the next 10 years
Missouri would lose 42,000 private-sector jobs