This one has been back and forth a lot, not helped by the “fact checkers” who apparently took their accounting classes in Cloud Cuckoo Land.
Basically, everyone knows that the ObamaCase plan takes $716 billion from out of Medicare and uses it to fund ObamaCare. But is that “cutting Medicare”?
If you ask the Obama supporters, no — because, as Mother Jones (yes, Mother Jones!) put it:
Mitt Romney says that Obamacare cut $716 billion in Medicare spending. Is that true?
Yes it is. This is the most recent estimate from the CBO for the ten-year period from 2013-2022.
So seniors are getting screwed?
No, probably not.
Then who is?
Mostly hospitals and insurance companies.
How so?
About a third of the cuts come from reduced reimbursements to hospitals. About a third comes from reducing overpayments to insurance companies for Medicare Advantage plans, which are private competitors to standard Medicare. The remaining third comes from cuts in reimbursements to various other healthcare providers. More details here.
Their argument is that it’s not “really” being cut from Medicare because instead of cutting the benefit to seniors, they’re going to cut the amount paid out of those benefits for services.
So it is OK by Obama if a senior’s hospital bills do not get paid, so long as nobody cuts those nice cash payments that all Medicare recipients get.
I can hardly wait to get my Medicare payments, on account of my bank balance being so low, though I get that Obama phone too.
Good strategy, Mother Jones.
No, no, no! You don’t get it. Doctors make too much money. Insurance companies, banks, oil companies, big corporations, the top 1%, etc. make too much money. It makes no sense to keep paying them more to provide services that can be provided for less. Meanwhile, that money should be put back into the service of the middle class instead of benefitting millionaires and billionaires.
Did I leave anything out?
Yes, you did. A trillion of stimulus money goes to the 1% ers