Medicare Roundup 10/12: Setting the Record Straight
Alyene Senger /
In recent weeks, liberal politicians, editorialists, and policy analysts have vigorously attacked reform of Medicare based on a defined contribution financing. In fact, this approach to reforming Medicare has a long bipartisan tradition, going back to the 1980s and Representatives Richard Gephardt (D–MO) and David Stockman (R–MI). In fact, much of this criticism is distorted, misleading, or just plain wrong.
Here are some articles that set the record straight:
Commentary:
Obama’s Medicare Cuts Will Affect Benefits (Bob Moffit)
National Review Online, 10/12/12
“Question: If you cut funding for benefits, will you then affect persons dependent upon those benefits? Of course you will. Financing directly affects the quantity and quality of the benefits available to the beneficiaries.”
Vice Presidential Debate: True/False Quiz on Medicare (Alyene Senger)
The Heritage Foundation, 10/12/12
“During the debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Representative Paul Ryan, several claims were made about Medicare. Some of these were true, others false.”
Morning Joe (Biden) (Peter Pitts)
Drug Wonks, 10/12/12
“What neither Vice President Biden (not surprisingly) nor Congressman Ryan (surprisingly) mentioned is the reason Part D is so successful—its design as a public/private partnership.”
Medicare and Seniors: Answering the $6,400 Question (Alyene Senger)
The Heritage Foundation, 10/10/12
“The 2011 [Congressional Budget Office] report used to calculate the $6,400 is based on a different, earlier plan than Ryan’s 2012 budget proposal and current premium-support proposal with Senator Wyden.”
Is Government-Run Health Care Really More Affordable? (Jeffrey H. Anderson)
The Weekly Standard, 10/9/12
“With roughly 40 years of evidence to draw upon, the verdict is in. We can see that government-run health costs have risen far more, per patient, than the costs of privately covered health care. As a study I authored for the Pacific Research Institute shows, since 1970, the costs of Medicare and Medicaid have each risen one-third more, per patient, than the combined cost of all other health care in America.”
Part D Is Still Working (Grace-Marie Turner)
Galen Institute, 10/3/12
“Private competition in Medicare Part D has led to lower prices and more choices for seniors, and the program is saving money for taxpayers as well.”
The Ratio of Obamacare’s Medicare Cuts to New ‘Benefits’ is Fifteen-to-One (Avik Roy)
Forbes.com, 10/2/12
“[A]ccording to the Congressional Budget Office, for every $500 [Obamacare] spends on preventive services and prescription drugs, it cuts the rest of Medicare by $7,385. That’s a cut-to-spending ratio of nearly 15 to 1.”