HHS has just announced that Obamacare has Strengthened Medicare, increased enrollment in Medicare Advantage while lowering premiums.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug programs have been strengthened and continue to improve for beneficiaries,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Since the law was enacted in 2010, average premiums have gone down, enrollment has gone up, and new benefits and lower drug costs continue to help millions of seniors and people with disabilities.”
For the third year in a row, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) used authority provided by the Affordable Care Act to protect beneficiaries from significant increases in costs or cuts in benefits. Access to supplemental benefits remains steady and beneficiaries’ average out-of-pocket spending remains constant.
Oops.
And since the first thing Republicans will say is "Of Course Obama's HHS is going to tout the accomplishments of Obama's Health Care law" - it turns out that HHS isn't the only group making this claim.
HHS’s assessment of Obamacare’s impact on Medicare Advantage is confimed by health policy organizations like the Kaiser Family Foundation, whose June report found that the program’s enrollment rate rose by 10 percent while the average premium dropped by $4 during the first half of this year. Thanks to the ongoing implementation of the health reform law, low-income Americans should continue to see their Medicare Advantage premiums decrease over time, and they will soon have a wider array of quality-rated plans to choose from
Or to put it another way, Obamacare didn't "steal" from Medicare - it
Improved Medicare, lowered costs and improved enrollment. Everything the Republicans
saw say should be done, but instead
they would undo in an eye-blink if they had the chance.
And this doesn't even include the closing of the prescription drug donut hole, banning of co-pays and deductibles for preventive care, and extending the solvency of the trust for for an additional 8 years.
Vyan