AANHPI Seniors Are Benefiting from President Biden and Vice President Harris’s Agenda
June 11, 2024
President Biden and Vice President Harris are leading the charge in fighting for America’s seniors, including AANHPI seniors: protecting essential benefits such as Social Security and Medicare, capping insulin at $35/month, which is helping AANHPI seniors who are disproportionately affected by conditions such as diabetes, and much more. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has a long, shameful record of leaving AANHPI seniors behind and peddling anti-AANHPI hate that puts their safety at risk — and he’ll do it again if he gets the chance. The choice this November couldn’t be more clear: the AANHPI community knows President Biden and Vice President Harris are the only ones in this race fighting for the dignity of our seniors and protecting their hard-earned benefits.
President Biden has vowed to protect Social Security for America’s seniors, which includes over 1 million AANHPI seniors. Meanwhile, Trump and MAGA Republicans want to end Social Security as we know it.
Social Security Administration: “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders benefit from the guaranteed benefit that is annually adjusted for inflation. With longer life expectancies, elderly Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will live more years in retirement and benefit from Social Security’s cost-of-living protections.”
Joe Kernen, CNBC: “Have you changed your outlook on how to handle entitlements, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid?”
Trump: “So first of all, there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting.”
Axios: “House conservatives float changes to Social Security in budget proposal”
“Why it matters: The RSC is made up of roughly 80% of the House GOP. The proposal is a wish list for what policies House Republicans may pursue if they take back the White House and the Senate.”
White House Fact Sheet: “Extreme House Republican Plan Would Cut Medicare and Social Security While Slashing Taxes for Big Corporations and the Wealthy”
President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act capped the cost of insulin at $35/month for Medicare beneficiaries, which has greatly impacted the lives of AANHPI seniors. Trump and MAGA Republicans have railed against the IRA.
Department of Health and Human Services: “Asian Medicare enrollees have disproportionately higher rates of certain health conditions relative to their White counterparts, including higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, stroke, some types of cancer, and heart failure. They also report greater difficulty accessing prescription drugs.”
“The IRA caps the monthly out-of-pocket costs for each covered insulin product to $35, which may result in greater access to and affordability of insulin for Asian enrollees.
“This provision went into effect in January 2023 for covered insulin products under Part D and July 2023 for covered insulin products under Part B. Under Medicare Part B and Part D, about 31,000 Asian Medicare enrollees would have benefited from the insulin cap if it had been in effect in 2020.”
Business Insider: “Trump blasts the Democratic-led climate and tax bill, says ‘old broken crow’ Mitch McConnell was ‘taken for a ride’ by Joe Manchin”
White House Fact Sheet: “The Republican Budget would side with Big Pharma to increase drug prices and seniors’ out-of-pocket costs by repealing the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Biden-Harris administration has also helped more than 1,000 senior AANHPI homeowners age in place in their own homes.
White House Fact Sheet: “More than 1,700 senior AA and NHPI homeowners used FHA’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program to age in place in their own homes over FY2021 and FY2022.”
And Trump stoked the flames of anti-AANHPI hate during the pandemic, which was followed by an uptick in hate crimes against the community — including violent attacks on AANHPI seniors.
NBC News: “Asian senior victims of hate say U.S. ‘more physically dangerous’ for community”
“New research shows the toll anti-Asian racism has had on Asian American seniors amid the pandemic.
“The report, by the hate incident tracking coalition Stop AAPI Hate and the American Association of Retired Persons, found that almost all Asian American elders who experienced hate incidents during the pandemic reported feeling that the U.S. has become ‘more physically dangerous for Asian Americans.’”
ABC News: “Trump’s ‘Chinese Virus’ tweet helped lead to rise in racist anti-Asian Twitter content: Study”
“The Asian American community has experienced a striking rise in incidents of hate since the onset of COVID-19, according to officials and advocates, and critics say the former president’s repeated use of ‘China Virus’ and other terms helped fuel an environment of hatred.”
“Researchers also found that the timing of the former president’s tweet was significant. The first time he used ‘ChineseVirus’ was March 16, 2020, and the following week saw an increase in anti-Asian hashtags and a rise in hate crimes. ”
New York Times: “Trump Defends Using ‘Chinese Virus’ Label, Ignoring Growing Criticism”
NBC News: “Trump can’t claim ‘Kung Flu’ doesn’t affect Asian Americans in this climate, experts say”