To the editor
Pastor Ernie Rivera
Looking out for our most vulnerable community members isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s the Christian thing to do. From protecting our children’s future to caring for our elders and individuals with disabilities, we all share a responsibility to strengthen and uplift our communities. After all, we are in this together.
Access to timely, quality health care is essential, and for millions of seniors and individuals with disabilities across the country, Medicare Advantage plays a vital role in making that possible. The program is particularly important in underserved and minority communities, including Florida’s Hispanic community. Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are more likely to be Latino or Black and to have lower incomes than those enrolled in traditional Medicare. In fact, nearly seven in 10 Latino seniors choose Medicare Advantage over the traditional model.
It’s easy to see why. Compared to traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage provides broader coverage at a lower cost. Nearly all plans include dental, vision, hearing, and fitness benefits that Fee-For-Service Medicare does not, along with annual caps on out-of-pocket expenses. For retirees and patients on fixed incomes, these protections offer critical financial relief and stability.
Access to affordable, high-quality health care is a game-changer for members of my congregation, Hispanic seniors across Florida, and older Americans nationwide. It allows them to lead healthier, more active lives while staying engaged in their communities with dignity and independence. This is a program that lawmakers in Washington should fully support.
Unfortunately, Medicare Advantage has faced years of funding cuts that have put benefits at risk and threatened to increase premiums. Moving forward, our federal lawmakers—Democrats and Republicans alike—must work together to reverse these cuts and ensure the program remains strong for the 2.9 million Floridians who rely on it.
Older voters, particularly in Florida, are a key constituency, and pre-election polling last year found that 86% of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries would be “less likely to vote for a Member of Congress who supported cutting funding” for the program. That’s a message lawmakers should take seriously.
Thankfully, some leaders already do. Representative Darren Soto has been a strong advocate for Medicare Advantage, speaking out against proposed cuts that would have raised health care costs for seniors at a time when inflation is already stretching household budgets. He has emphasized the need to keep premiums low and safeguard the supplemental benefits that millions of seniors and patients with disabilities depend on.
His leadership gives me hope that others in the Florida delegation—and across Congress—will join in the fight to protect and fully fund Medicare Advantage. Working together, they can preserve and strengthen a program that enhances the lives of some of our most at-risk and deserving community members. Any lawmaker who believes in our moral responsibility to care for one another should make protecting Medicare Advantage a top priority.
Pastor Ernie Rivera