GOP Senators Attacking Exact Same Medicare Advantage “Cuts” They Proposed Themselves
Today, the Senate is debating the health care bill’s proposed reductions in spending on Medicare Advantage, the privately-administered, souped-up version of Medicare. Republican Senators have hammered these spending reductions, blasting them as “cuts” that could deal a severe blow to the health care enjoyed by seniors.
But the same Republicans criticizing these “cuts” co-sponsored a measure earlier this year containing the exact same proposed reductions to Medicare advantage, a Democrat points out. That raises the question: Why weren’t these “cuts” when Republicans did it?
Bear with me. The Dem reform proposal would reduce spending on Medicare Advantage by about $120 billion over 10 years, in order to help pay for the bill. The Dem bill would end subsidies for Medicare Advantage plans — which are enjoyed by roughly a quarter of Medicare recipients — that can’t beat the price tag of traditional Medicare.
Republicans slam the proposed reductions as a dire threat to seniors. Senator Tom Coburn blasted them as “taking away from the poorest of the elderly.” Similar warnings of “cuts” to medical services have been sounded by Lamar Alexander, Richard Burr, and Johnny Isakson.
But all those Senators were co-sponsors of Coburn’s Patients’ Choice Act earlier this year, which GOP Senators billed as a deficit-neutral alternative to Dem proposals.
That GOP measure, it turns out, called for $158 billion in spending reductions to Medicare Advantage — by eliminating the exact same subsidies Dems are now proposing to abolish. The GOP bill would have done this by forcing insurance companies to bid competitively on administering Medicare Advantage and doing away with automatic subsidies.
DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan blasted Republicans for calling these “cuts” when “Republicans thought enough of the idea of eliminating wasteful subsidies” to propose “hundreds of billions in savings themselves.” He added: “This shows that Republicans are willing to do and say anything in order to kill reform.”
In fairness, similar charges have flowed both ways. While Obama has long backed reducing Medicare Advantage subsidies, in 2008 Obama blasted a proposal from John McCain as amounting to “cuts” in Medicare, earning him a spanking from Factcheck.org. But today it’s the Republicans doing it — McCain included.
Thanks to reporter Beth Marlowe for the research help.
This blog’s homepage is here. RSS feed here. Twitter feed here. Email me here.
Five years is a drop in a bucket – especially when you consider the amount of money we are spending. “The report forecasts an increase in total health-care spending of more than $289 billion.” For that we get five extra years of solvency.
“I say we raise the taxes we all pay into Medicare and then extend the ceiling on income for the tax. ”
Please,god – Yes! please do this.
How about means testing for Medicare benefits? Seems like someone like Tena wouldn’t need ‘em. I am unopposed to extending the ceiling on income for the tax, either. We can’t just keep going the way we are – but I think we should do better than these bills. So do most Americans.
There you go – problem solved.
That’s just one in an infinite number of factors that could change things radically between now and 2022.
“I say we raise the taxes we all pay into Medicare and then extend the ceiling on income for the tax.”
If y’all are such big supporters of this approach then why do you throw your support behind bills that don’t do either?
“but I think we should do better than these bills. So do most Americans.”
No, that isn’t true – we have been working on this in real terms for 70 years. We’re here now and we’re going forward.
I heard all the same c*r*a*p in the ‘92. We are’t repeating that. All the little picky arguments and the big fat lies are not going to stop it this time.
Nope, not happening.
All, happy hour roundup posted:
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/climate-change/happy-hour-roundup-123/
Nobody asked me. And I’ll take the House or the Senate bill as being pretty good but not great. We will never get something perfect out of this Congress, but we will get something that is better than nothing and can be improved on as we go.
I see where you are coming from SBJ. We can not afford to cure sick people, while we still need all that money to slaughter people in wars of choice.
Priorities Priorities. You Betcha!
Yes, that’s it, Liam.
Wonderful input!
“We will never get something perfect out of this Congress, but we will get something that is better than nothing and can be improved on as we go.”
Especially after the tax rates are adjusted to reflect at least a modicum of reality.
SBJ wants to Reform Medicare First, but he does not say what he means by that. We know that The Republicans are now against cutting any expenditures on Medicare, so what the hell does their version of reform contain.
SBJ says that there are not going to be enough hospitals and doctors to treat those who are currently uninsured, so we might as well not spend money on them, and just let them die. Funny how that sounds isn’t it. It almost sounds like those Right Wingers are the ones who are pushing for Death Panels.
Just let them die!
Whoo-woo!
Right winger “sbj” finally admits what the Republican health care plan really is: “Just let them die!”
As someone else characterized it:
“Don’t get sick, but if you do, die quickly.”
Only the GOP would consider that a (de facto) plan.
Go quick death!
Is this a comment thread or a chat room?
Greg, my guess is that many of the Democrats calling for those cuts to pay for the health care “reform” were also critical of those same, earlier calls by Republicans to cut Medicare benefits.
Right? Well, you might not know since you didn’t include such an obvious aside in your report. I mean, it would spoil the cute headline you ran with.
News Reference, are you really as ignorant as you seem, or just so blinded by ideology that you can’t reason for yourself?
There are multiple health care reform plans that have been put forward by Republicans.
Oh, and yeah none of them call for letting people die.
I love that Tena throws out France as an example of a model health care system.
Unfortunately, the United States has over 300 million citizens. Frace? A touch over 62 million.
The legislation pending in the Senate will do nothing to encourage and everything to discourage people from becoming doctors. Yet, it will add millions to the system.
So, we’re going to massively increase demand while diminishing supply.. and this is going to lower the cost of health care?
I’m sorry but if you believe that then you need to have your brain replaced.