Amidst all the Republican-induced misinformation and hysteria, Think Progress has provided a nice breakdown of the $700 billion "cut" to Medicare that really isn't a cut at all. These changes are a result of the Affordable Care Act and are designed to make Medicare more efficient and durable.
Please note that the numbers given are for the time period covering the implementation of the law to 2016 only, whereas the $700 billion covers a full 10-year period. This is also only a partial breakdown.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
$68 billion in savings will come from reducing excessive Medicare payments to private insurers who operate in Medicare Advantage.
$85 billion will come from reforming provider payments, including improved productivity.
$7.8 billion will come from cracking down on fraud and abuse in the Medicare system.
$41 billion will come from additional provisions, including the net effect of expanded benefits, lower payments for hospital acquired conditions, readmissions reductions, and adjustments to premium subsidies.
Something else to remember is that it is precisely due to these savings that seniors can now get
free preventative-care services and
much lower costs on prescription drugs (via the filling of the much-dreaded "donut hole").
And Romney's response to all this?
“My commitment is, if I become President, I’m going to restore that $716 billion to the Medicare trust fund so that current seniors can know that the trust fund is not being raided and get Medicare on track to be solvent long-term on a permanent basis,” Romney told CBS on Wednesday morning. But in replenishing the funds, Romney would actually be making the program worse off, not better.
Has there been a more blatantly dishonest and opportunistic politician in our lifetime?