Doña Ana County Seniors Call on Steve Pearce to Oppose Medicare Cuts

Contributing writer Stephen Jones checks in with more on-the-ground coverage from Southern New Mexico.

A determined group of Doña Ana County senior citizens and retirees called on Congressman Steve Pearce (R-CD2) at his Las Cruces office on Thursday morning. They were there to protest Pearce's vote for the Ryan budget plan, which would end Medicare, and to state their opposition to efforts by Pearce, southern New Mexico's representative in Washington, to slash funding for Medicare and Medicaid. The group met briefly with Eric Layer, Pearce's press secretary, and presented him with a large "return receipt" presented for Pearce's signature. The so-called "return receipt" asks Congressmen who voted for the Ryan plan to return their own government paid health insurance and join seniors on their own "in the private insurance market."

Layer also read a press release, issued by Congressman Pearce to the gathering, which states that claims that "this year’s revenues will be more than enough to cover Social Security and Medicare" even if the debt ceiling is not extended.

Evelyn Erhard, a Las Cruces resident who helped organize Thursday's group, told Layer that she and her husband "would love to support local business," but are unable to do so due to high health care costs. "Even with Medicare we pay $17,000," Erhard said. "I'm glad Congressman Pearce has done well in the oil business," she added, "but I want him to know we are not all in that situation."

"Social Security and Medicare are not part of the deficit problem," said Deanna Barshinger. "They need to be treated separately from the deficit issue. I'm not even speaking for myself here," an emotional Barshinger added, "but I'm thinking of all my neighbors and fellow citizens who depend on Social Security and Medicare to live. We need to have people in Washington stop thinking politics and party and start thinking about people," Barshinger said.

After the meeting, the outsized "return reciept" was presented to Eric Layer by Chris Cervini, a community activist from Albuquerque who was in Las Cruces as part of an effort to acquaint voters in New Mexico with the national Affordable Care Act. Cervini stressed the importance of protecting Medicare and Medicaid from cuts in Congress. Layer promised to forward a photo of the oversized document to Congressman Pearce, who is in Washington.

Photos by Stephen Jones. To see more posts by Stephen, visit our archive.