Republican/Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino formed an exploratory Committee on Feb. 3 to run for New York Governor against Andrew Cuomo. The New York Daily News covered it by reporting on an interview that Astorino gave in 2011. During a “Capital Tonight” conversation, Astorino said that Medicaid should not pay for dentures for seniors. Asked by interviewer Liz Benjamin how seniors would be able to chew, Astorino said, “Soup is good.”
In response to the article, Dennis Tracey, President of the New York State Alliance for Retired Americans, said, “Telling seniors who depend on Medicaid to ‘go eat soup’ is insulting and degrading to senior citizens everywhere. This kind of thoughtless comment ignores that there are countless senior citizens who depend on Medicaid for all kinds of critical health issues, from prescription drugs to dentures.”
Tracey continued, “To mock these real issues shows that Rob Astorino not only doesn’t care about the needs of seniors, but that he thinks our best use is being the butt of a political joke. Mr. Astorino should immediately apologize.”
Using mortality rate statistics from other states’ previous efforts to expand Medicaid, a Harvard – City University of New York study has found that between 7,000 and 17,000 Americans are likely to die due to 25 states’ refusal to expand Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act. More at //tinyurl.com/pgdpchx.
To see video footage of Astorino’s original remarks, go to //tinyurl.com/q4zgjvq. Monday’s Daily News article is at //tinyurl.com/nwk254m.