U.S. Senate candidate El-Sayed drafts affordability plan for Michigan seniors

Policy proposals aimed at bolstering the social safety net for seniors and Michigan’s aging population are now a part of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s affordability platform.

El-Sayed, the progressive candidate in the three-way Democratic primary between state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham, rolled out the platform on Wednesday morning. His “AAA Plan” would eliminate cost-sharing for Medicare beneficiaries, lift the Social Security payroll tax cap, and provide a federal framework for state-level property tax freezes. 

The campaign believes that the tax cap measure, and the plan as a whole, will help seniors age with dignity and where they feel most comfortable doing so.

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“Michiganders deserve a future where retirement doesn’t mean anxiety and financial stress,” El-Sayed said in a statement. “But as they privatize more of Medicare, strip down Social Security for parts, and make aging less affordable every year, we need big, structural changes. It’s time for an America where our seniors can age with dignity, and the Aging Affordably in America Plan does just that.”

The campaign also said that since seniors played by the rules and paid into the social safety net, they deserve stability and comfort as a return on that investment. That includes a Medicare program that actually covers all of their healthcare needs, reliable Social Security dollars that they can live on, and live in a home they can afford to pay for and stay in.

El-Sayed’s team noted that the AAA Plan will deliver on all three of those metrics while also ensuring that the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share into the system.

The plan would expand Medicare drug price negotiation powers to all prescription drugs, while also closing all Medicare coverage gaps. Expanded coverage for vision, dental, and hearing would be put in place, and would ban AI-based prior authorizations. 

El-Sayed’s team said he would commit the plan to repeal the windfall elimination provision and government pension offset, lift the payroll tax cap for high-earners, end taxes on Social Security benefits for seniors, and create a federal framework for state-level property tax freezes for seniors.

Creating income-targeted priorities for relief would also be included, along with freezes that follow the senior, not the property, and federal investment in home and community-based services. Ending institutional bias in long-term care financing would also go on to support family caregivers who are already doing the work.

The winner of the Democratic primary on Aug. 5 will go on to face the lone Republican in the race, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.