Mitt Romney is claiming that President Obama’s Affordable Care Act will “cut more than $700 billion” out of Medicare; and he’s correct. That’s right, I said he’s correct, BUT:
The President’s plan will reduce Medicare payments to drug companies, hospitals, and other providers rather than cutting payments to Medicare beneficiaries.
The Romney-Ryan plan on the other hand, cuts Medicare by the same amount. However, their plan (my emphasis):
“…achieves its savings by turning Medicare into a voucher whose value doesn’t keep up with expected increases in healthcare costs — thereby shifting the burden onto Medicare beneficiaries, who will have to pay an average of $6,500 a year more for their Medicare insurance, according [to] an analysis of the Republican plan by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.”
As Robert Reich points out (my emphasis):
“…the Affordable Care Act uses its Medicare savings to help children and lower-income Americans afford health care, and to help seniors pay for prescription drugs by filling the so-called “donut hole” in Medicare Part D coverage.
The Romney-Ryan plan uses the savings to finance even bigger tax cuts for the very wealthy.
Ezra Klein writes:
“Ryan’s budget — which Romney has endorsed — keeps Obama’s cuts to Medicare, and both Ryan and Obama envision the same long-term spending path for Medicare. The difference between the two campaigns is not in how much they cut Medicare, but in how they cut Medicare.
…there’s a conflict of policy visions. But it’s simply a conservative myth that the White House hasn’t put forward a Medicare reform plan. What that line really means is that White House hasn’t put forward some variant of Ryan’s plan, which in many Republican circles, has come to be seen as the only policy change that counts as “entitlement reform.” But Obama’s plan is, without doubt, far more detailed than anything Romney has put forward, and Republicans are well aware of its existence.”
Robert Reich: “Spread the word. Don’t allow the GOP to get away with this demagoguery.”
So there are two possibilities here; either Romney doesn’t know enough about either plan to make an honest comparison, or he’s flat out omitting the truth. Based on his being perpetually truth challenged, he gets 5 Well Manicured Thumbs Down.
Oh, and one more thing,
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