Beware: One of the top scam artists targeting local seniors these days is Republican Jay Webber.



It started with an ad featuring the 11th district congressional candidate's elderly father, in which Webber accused Democrats like his opponent, Mikie Sherrill, of trying to destroy Medicare. This is total flimflam.



In fact, it is the two most powerful Republicans in Congress, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, who are promising a fresh round of cuts to so-called "entitlements" like Medicare and Social Security, to solve a problem of their own making. Google it.

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Their party's giant tax cuts, which favor the uber-rich and corporations, have exploded our federal deficit, and now, they are using this as an excuse to cut programs that older people rely on, and paid for throughout their working lives.



And Webber didn't stop there. He also paid a visit to a Caldwell retirement home, where he once again tried to pass himself off as an ally of retirees. Some may buy into this, and not just the elderly. But others read the news. These people weren't born yesterday.



Not only did Webber team up in his campaign with Paul Ryan, the hatchet man eyeing their health care and benefits. He also fully backs the ongoing Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would gut Medicaid, the primary source of funding for nursing homes.



You may think you have enough money to last your entire life and can live out your golden years at a place like Crane's Mill in Caldwell. But if your health fails, or you have a bad fall, and you drain your savings on hospital bills or an assisted living center, you'll have to rely on Medicaid to pay for nursing home care.



This is by far one of the costliest parts of Medicaid; the one most ripe for cuts. Your grown children may be forced to dip into whatever savings they have to help you, even if you once lived quite comfortably. It's one of many reasons why AARP, a nonpartisan advocate for older Americans, staunchly opposed the Republican repeal plan.



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Another is that older people are more likely to have conditions like cancer or diabetes, and Webber's call to repeal the ACA's protections means insurers could charge them unbearable premiums. Webber claims he wants to protect these people, but all the Republican plans that profess to do that have been debunked. They'd require insurers to sell you a policy, but at any sky-high price they want. Or insurers could offer a cancer patient a policy that doesn't cover chemo. That's fake protection.



Webber also spent his career as a state Assemblyman refusing to defend coverage for various pre-existing conditions. He was one of the only lawmakers to vote against requiring insurers to cover hearing aids for kids, for instance, or treatment for desperate young people struggling with addiction. Think of your grandkids. Even a low birth weight is considered a pre-existing condition.



Webber is far from the only Republican pulling this con. Rep. Tom MacArthur, a leading architect of last year's repeal that would have stripped health protections from the elderly and the sick, is meeting with a group of seniors today in Toms River. Even he is now pretending to be an advocate for these people.

With age brings wisdom, as they say: Let's hope elderly voters see right through this scam.

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