Sep 21, 2012
Fact Check: Jason Plummer Attacks Medicare Cuts He Supports
While trying to proclaim bipartisanship, Jason Plummer parroted partisan Republican talking points about health care reform. Plummer said that "Obamacare slashes $720 billion from Medicare," when the truth is that the Romney-Ryan plan Plummer supports includes the same Medicare reforms, but goes further to dismantle the current Medicare system and forces seniors to pay $6,400 more for their health benefits.
As President Clinton said, “It takes some brass to attack a guy for doing what you did.”
FACT CHECK
The Affordable Care Act simply doesn’t cut $700 billion from Medicare…
Bloomberg: The Affordable Care Act Doesn’t “Cut” Medicare. “The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that Obama pushed for doesn’t cut Medicare; it simply reduces projected future increases in costs by $700 billion over 10 years.” [Bloomberg, 8/13/12]
CBS News Called the Charge “Dubious.” CBS news called the attack “dubious” and wrote: “it's not the patients who would lose money. It's the providers.” [CBS News, 8/15/12]
USA Today: “There Are No Cuts In Benefits” “Q: Does the Obama plan cut about $716 billion from Medicare, as the Romney campaign argues it does? A: Not exactly. There are no cuts in benefits, and, in fact, seniors have already seen preventive services, such as annual exams and cancer screenings, with no co-pays. Instead, the savings comes by decreasing provider payments.” [USA Today, 8/15/12]
Hypocritically, the House Republican Budget included the same savings from Medicare spending.
Plummer “Thinks The Benefits Of The Ryan Plan Are Pretty Obvious.” At a June 2012 town hall, Plummer was asked if he supported the Ryan plan. He answered “The specifics of it are pretty simple. I think that the Ryan plan aggressively addresses basically every entitlement program that we have. […] I think the benefits of the Ryan plan are pretty obvious. They aggressively put Social Security in a situation where it will actually be there for people that are retiring. It puts Medicare in a situation that it will actually be there to fund the healthcare needs of the people that it’s there for. The negatives of the Ryan care are very political to be frank.” [Alton Town Hall, 6/12/12, 2:07]
Paul Ryan’s Budget Kept The Same Medicare Savings. “Republicans, including House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, have been critical of Democrats for cutting $500 billion from the program over a decade as part of their health-care overhaul. Still, the House Republican budget written by Ryan retains the cuts.” [Bloomberg, 3/29/12]
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