Guess who's not celebrating older Americans month?

May is Older Americans Month. But opponents of health reform don’t seem to be celebrating it. Instead of supporting older Americans by ensuring that they’ll live a healthy life, they are asking seniors to save more money now so that they can bear the brunt of their future health care costs.

We don’t get it either. At a time when we should be making sure that America’s seniors don’t go broke because they need a colonoscopy or that they can get preventive care (like mammograms) free-of-charge, opponents of the Affordable Care Act are heading in the opposite direction. They’re asking older Americans to make more sacrifices than ever before.

Here’s the back story: Just a few weeks ago, Representative Paul Ryan released his plan for the budget. Not only did it cut back on safety-net programs that millions of Americans depend on, but it puts seniors’ access to health care in jeopardy.

According a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, if Ryan gets his way, Americans born after 1957 will have to sock away additional money if they plan to live until age 84—$182,000 before they retire.

Representative Ryan’s plan replaces guaranteed benefits with a voucher system, and because the value of the vouchers is not projected to keep up with rising health care costs, seniors will end up paying more out of pocket than they currently do and more than many of them can afford.

Rep. George Miller, ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce released a statement, saying,

Congress needs to make sure Medicare is sustainable for seniors in the future and sustainable for taxpayers. We took a substantial step towards this goal through the Affordable Care Act. But, a few things are certain: you don’t save Medicare by abolishing it. And you don’t help seniors have a dignified retirement by forcing them into poverty.

Representative Miller is right. We need to make sure that our seniors can get quality, affordable health care without falling into debt or falling behind on mortgage payments.

Representative Ryan’s plan is the opposite of security and safety for seniors’ health care. America, and its older Americans, simply can’t afford it.