More Ryan Lies About Medicare and Recycling His Failed Budget

(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

After the big Republican pow wow with the president at the White House, the so-called liberally biased media turned their mikes over to the Republicans so they could spout more lies about Paul Ryan’s budget, Medicare and the economy. One of the bigger lies about Medicare was a recycled one about Medicare from that little pouty demagog, Paul Ryan:

Millions of dollars of negative ads are being run to try and scare seniors and trying to confuse seniors. You know, the irony of this Bill, is with all this Mediscare that the Democrats are running, it’s Obamacare itself that ends Medicare as we know it. Obamacare takes half a trillion dollars from Medicare – not to make it more solvent but to spend on this other government program, Obamacare. And then it creates this 15 panel board of unelected, unaccountable, bureaucrats starting next year to price control and ration Medicare for current seniors.

Just how many times to we have to debunk this lie?

From Think Progress:  

The ACA reduced annual increases in payments to hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and other institutions to spur productivity and cut overpayments to private insurers that are not delivering value for Medicare dollars. It used that money to expand coverage to 32 million Americans – many of whom were receiving uncompensated care at these institutions – to extend the life of the Medicare program and invest in new demonstration projects that aim to encourage providers to deliver quality care more efficiently. Seniors’ guaranteed benefits are in no way affected.

The “15 panel board,” as Ryan calls it, is actually the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). It will include individuals from across the health care field, all of whom will have to be confirmed by the Senate. Significantly, their proposal to reduce spending cannot “include any recommendation to ration health care, raise revenues or Medicare beneficiary premiums…increase Medicare beneficiary cost- sharing (including deductibles, coinsurance, and co- payments), or otherwise restrict benefits or modify eligibility criteria” (Section 3403 (page 409) of the Affordable Care Act stipulates.)

The Democrats need to tell the White House and the democratic leadership to take Medicare off the budget deficit negotiating table now. As Greg Sargent observes recent polling shows Americans are strongly opposed to cutting Medicare. If the Democrats agree to cuts it will doom there electoral advantage in 2012.

If Democrats in deficit negotiations agree to a compromise that cuts Medicare benefits to seniors, they risk squandering the advantage they’ve built up over Republicans on the issue since 2010 and risk losing their more general edge as defenders of the middle class, a top Dem pollster who just completed an extensive health care poll tells me.

Jeff Liszt, of the respected Dem firm Anzalone Liszt, has just completed a poll for two liberal-leaning groups finding that the Paul Ryan Medicare plan is deeply unpopular with voters, and particularly with seniors and independents, when the plan is described to them. The poll also found that Obama and Dems have increased their advantage over Republicans on Medicare, on health care in general, and on who can be trusted to defend the middle class.

After spouting off before the cameras, the house went back into session, and using a twisted rules maneuver attached the rejected Ryan budget onto the Homeland Security Appropriations bill in a ‘deem and pass’ move. From Nancy Pelosi:

   Despite Americans soundly rejecting the Republican budget to end Medicare-with a new CNN poll out today finding 58% oppose and opposition from senior citizens even higher at 74%-House Republicans doubled down on ending Medicare by passing a Rule on the Homeland Security Appropriations bill (pdf) which “deems” that the Republican budget is passed:

       Provides that H. Con. Res. 34, including the related 302(a) allocations printed in the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution, shall have force and effect until a conference report on the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2012 is adopted.

   House Democrats unanimously opposed the Rule today and the Republican budget ending Medicare which increases costs by $6,000 a year for seniors, cuts benefits immediately, and puts insurance companies in charge.