Yesterday I received a large-size post card mailing from my representative (R). He claims he is going to "save and strengthen" Medicare. The model in the picture looked familiar. Sure enough, it's the same guy in the
Romney TV ad on yesterday's front page. I know my rep would not be smart enough to come up with this on his own. Who else has received a similar mailing?
On the back, the card claims:
Projections from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office confirm that Medicare, if left unchanged, will fail to meet obligations to seniors by 2022. [Emphasis in the original.]
This is political hogwash and Mediscare. No future congress in going to stop paying Medicare benefits to seniors.
more below the orange squiggle
There is a comparison chart on the back:
Reform and a Brighter Future VS. Status Quo and Reduced Benefits
Under the "Brighter Future" column:
WHAT THE PLAN I SUPPORT MEANS FOR CURRENT SENIORS (AGE 55 & OVER)
No changes
No disruptions
Preserves and protects benefits
WHAT THE PLAN I SUPPORT MEANS FOR FUTURE SENIORS
Personalized, guaranteed Medicare plan
Those with poor health and low incomes get the help they need
Remain in traditional, current Medicare if you wish.
Under the "Status Quo and Reduced Benefits" column:
WHAT THE STATUS QUO MEANS FOR CURRENT SENIORS
Under the President's health care law, a board of 15 unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats will determine benefits and cuts for seniors
$532 billion will be taken from the Medicare Trust Fund to pay for the new health care law
WHAT THE STATUS QUO MEANS FOR FUTURE SENIORS
No plan to save Medicare
In as little as 10 years, Medicare will be unable to meet obligations to beneficiaries
The GOP appears to have a coordinated, pre-emptive strike against the attack that the Ryan budget would "end Medicare as we know it." I suspect that there's a lot of insurance industry money behind their approach.
Actually, the GOP plan would not end Medicare as we know it; it would restore Medicare "Advantage," and, eventually, kill traditional Medicare as insurance companies cherry-picked healthy seniors. Like many of the GOP policies, this would take us back to something we already tried. It didn't work then, and it won't work in the future. From ThinkProgress:
Over the years, a number of government reports and independent estimates have found that some plans use the taxpayer subsidies to pad their bottom lines and expose beneficiaries to serious financial risks. A recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that some MA plans used lower premiums to attract healthier enrollees, but then hit them “with high and unexpected out-of-pocket costs.” It’s an embarrassing record indeed and one that Republicans seek to build on.
One thing the Insurance industry hated about Obamacare was that it took away the subsidies they were getting for Medicare Advantage plans. Of course ideologues like Paul Ryan and Steve King hate Medicare because it's a successful, popular government program. That contradicts their fundamental beliefs.