Democratic congressional candidate Sam Forstag talks Medicare, Social Security in Butte

Met with a chorus of applause from 50 or so attendees at a town hall in Butte on Thursday, Sam Forstag shared his hopes to protect Medicare and Social Security.

Forstag, the Democratic candidate for Montana’s western congressional district, said he wants to expand Medicare reimbursement rates and ensure both programs remain publicly maintained rather than privatized.

Both programs are crucial for older Americans. Medicare eligibility begins at age 65, with limited exceptions; Social Security eligibility begins at 62 with decreased monthly payments and at age 66 or 67 for full benefits, depending on the recipient’s birth year.

Population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau approximate about 19.5% of Butte’s population is age 65 or older.

Jon Bauman, president of Social Security Works PAC, said many American seniors were living below the federal poverty line before Social Security was passed in 1935 and before Medicare was passed in 1965. He added that both programs allowed his mother to live with dignity and independence.

“Social Security and Medicare are the two most successful domestic programs in the entire history of the United States of America,” Bauman said.

Current projections show Social Security’s primary trust fund will be depleted by 2032, meaning benefits would be slashed thereafter. The depletion date moved up a year due to policy provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The program is funded by a payroll tax of 12.4% up to a taxable maximum, which is $184,500 in 2026. Preventing a shortfall and protecting full benefit payouts is “surprisingly simple,” Forstag said.

“Let’s get rid of that cap. Let’s ask everybody to pay the same damn share of their income into Social Security benefits, because this is something that benefits all of us,” Forstag said.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act could also threaten Medicare’s trust fund and funding without additional Congressional action, potentially reducing program funding by $500 billion by 2034. Forstag said cutting funding for the longstanding program could lead to its privatization, similar to the Medicare Advantage program.

Programs similar to Medicare Advantage can be traced back to the inception of Medicare, but it was more formally created in 1997 and renamed to Medicare Advantage in 2003. Private insurance companies approved by Medicare offer Medicare Advantage plans.

“Let’s get rid of Medicare Advantage. Let’s make Medicare actually public. Let’s raise the reimbursement rates for that program so that a rural hospital is not in the red when they serve a Medicare patient,” Forstag said.

Of the 261,964 Montanans enrolled in Medicare in 2024, more than 70% were insured through traditional plans.

Bauman said the PAC endorsed Forstag’s campaign because of his answers to six questions related to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and, he said, because Forstag's Republican opponent, Aaron Flint, had not returned the questionnaire.

The general election is Nov. 3.