Link: Tell truth to grandma: Obama robbed Medicare of $716 billion.

[banjeaux]

CBS News chief Washington correspondent and anchor of "Face the Nation" Bob Schieffer sat down with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan on Sunday for their first interview since the Republican presidential nominee announced Ryan as his running mate.

Romney answered critics who say Ryan's Medicare plan will hurt the ticket's chances, especially in Florida.

"There's only one president that I know of in history that robbed Medicare, $716 billion to pay for a new risky program of his own that we call Obamacare," Romney said.

"What Paul Ryan and I have talked about is saving Medicare, is providing people greater choice in Medicare, making sure it's there for current seniors. No changes, by the way, for current seniors, or those nearing retirement. But looking for young people down the road and saying, "We're going to give you a bigger choice." In America, the nature of this country has been giving people more freedom, more choices. That's how we make Medicare work down the road."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_1...ney-ryan-answer-critics-of-medicare-position/

 

[Bama4Ever831]

I sure hope for your sake that Obama loses. I'm a bit afraid you will be really upset when/if he wins. Unfortunately for you its not looking good...

 

[TidefaninOS]

I sure hope for your sake that Obama loses. I'm a bit afraid you will be really upset when/if he wins. Unfortunately for you its not looking good...

Well, I do, too. I hope for his sake, your sake, my sake, and the sake of this whole country that Obama loses.

 

[64met]

well, i do, too. I hope for his sake, your sake, my sake, and the sake of this whole country that obama loses.

post of the year! ^^^^^

 

[We_are_Bama]

Election day 2012. The end of an error. That's what I'd like to see anyway!

 

[Tider@GW_Law]

Well if Romney said it then it must be true.

It's not like he's running for any kind of office. Not realistically anyway.

(Oh, almost forgot to mention that this is all sarcasm.)

 

[seebell]

Let's not let the facts get in the way of a good sound bite:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/page/282754_Romney-Ryans_Spectacularly_Mi

At the forefront of the Romney/Ryan ticket’s defense of the Ryan Budget’s Medicare cuts is an extremely misleading claim about the impact of the Affordable Care Act on Medicare.
None of these reductions were financed by cuts to Medicare enrollees’ eligibility or benefits; benefits were improved in the ACA. Cuts were focused on hospitals, health insurers, home health, and other providers.Except for insurers, all the affected groups publicly supported the reductions to help finance the ACA’s expansion in health insurance to about 32 million uninsured Americans.

 

[Tide1986]

Cuts were focused on hospitals, health insurers, home health, and other providers.

I haven't researched this, but could reductions in reimbursements result in reduced access to health care for seniors? And if so, shouldn't that ultimately be considered a reduction in actual health care for seniors?

 

[seebell]

I haven't researched this, but could reductions in reimbursements result in reduced access to health care for seniors? And if so, shouldn't that ultimately be considered a reduction in actual health care for seniors?

You know about as much as I do Tide1986. I just love to contradict Banjeaux. Your point may be a good one.

From the article:
Medicare spending will continue to grow, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), but ACA will slow that growth.

CMS and the Kaiser Family Foundation tell ABC News that there will be no benefit cuts to Medicare. They say instead of Medicare’s being cut, there will be much more spending at the end of a 10-year window, but it does slow the rate of that growth.

You know government speak. Nothing is ever less but a cut is really a decrease in the rate of growth.

 

[Tider@GW_Law]

I haven't researched this, but could reductions in reimbursements result in reduced access to health care for seniors? And if so, shouldn't that ultimately be considered a reduction in actual health care for seniors?

This is actually a pretty complex question.

To answer generally, in any other health insurance program this would mean reduced access. However, providers don't exactly have much of a meaningful choice as to whether or not to accept Medicare patients. The biggest effect of Medicare fee schedule changes is actually on the private market, which pegs its rates on Medicare.

 

[Tide1986]

This is actually a pretty complex question.

To answer generally, in any other health insurance program this would mean reduced access. However, providers don't exactly have much of a meaningful choice as to whether or not to accept Medicare patients. The biggest effect of Medicare fee schedule changes is actually on the private market, which pegs its rates on Medicare.

If you're saying that arbitrary reductions in Medicare reimbursements shift costs to the private sector, then I agree.

 

[banjeaux]

Nov 2009 Obama: One-Third Of ObamaCare Funding From MediCare cuts