The New Health Dialogue

The Democratic-led Senate successfully pushed back against one of the favored Republican attack lines against health reform -- defeating Arizona Republican John McCain’s attempt to derail the bill with false claims that it would eviscerate Medicare. (His motion to send the bill back to the Finance Committee to remove the $450 billion in Medicare cuts was defeated this afternoon 42-58.)

The Republicans, who have been trying to cut or at least partly privatize Medicare for more than a decade, have been hammering at Democrats for months. As the Senate opened debate this week, McCain led the charge, saying, “The cuts are not attainable…And if they were, it would mean direct curtailment and reduction in the benefits we have promised to senior citizens.”

But the Democrats, backed by the AARP, have countered that their reforms may pinch private insurers who are getting overpaid with tax dollars for Medicare Advantage plans, but that it will actually help America’s seniors.  It will extend the fiscal life of the entitlement program, and help seniors pay their drug costs and get more affordable preventive care. They circulated a document that sorts out fact from fiction.

 

We have selected a few of their points for you:

Fiction: The bill cuts billions of dollars from Medicare Advantage plans, hurting the 11 million seniors enrolled in those plans today.

Fact: This bill cuts down on overpayments, not benefits. Overpayments to insurers threaten Medicare’s future and increase costs for seniors. For 2009, MedPac – the independent commission that advises Congress on issues affecting Medicare – estimates Medicare will pay approximately $12 billion more for beneficiaries enrolled in private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans than if they were in traditional Medicare. These overpayments exist because private insurers under Medicare Advantage are overpaid by 14 percent on average.

Fiction: Health reform will cut Medicare benefits for seniors.

Fact: Health reform will increase the number of Medicare benefits that seniors are entitled to under law.  The legislation increases coverage of preventive services at no additional costs to seniors. That means, when seniors visit a doctor for a colonoscopy, mammography, or other preventive screen, they won't pay the co-pay required under current law.  Encouraging more preventive care is one of the best ways we can save lives and lower health care costs.  That's why, under this bill, seniors will receive even better preventive benefits than they receive today.

Fiction: Under health reform, government bureaucrats will dictate personal health care decisions.

Fact: Health care decisions about providers and treatments are some of the most personal decisions many people make.  Under current law, doctors and patients decide which treatments Medicare patients need.  The same is true under this bill.  Health reform will keep these decisions between health care providers and patients.  And with improved payment policies, this bill also ensures Medicare providers get the resources they need to continue providing quality care to their patients.

Fiction: Health reform will slash Medicare and make it weaker over the long-term. 

Fact: The Office of the Actuary at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services confirms health care reform will extend the solvency of Medicare -- potentially by as much as five years.  In contrast, if we don't act, the Medicare trust fund will go broke in 2017.  By making smart changes in Medicare that improve patient outcomes and save money, this bill extends the life of the program without cutting benefits for seniors.

Fiction: Republicans are standing up for America's seniors and Democrats are not.   

Fact: Republicans today are arguing the exact opposite of what they've said previously. In the late 90s, Republicans and Democrats joined together to fight for America's seniors, advocating Congress take the advice of experts who said the solvency of Medicare was in trouble.  Today, some Republicans are using scare tactics, falsely claiming that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will impose "cuts to Medicare" that hurt seniors.  In truth, this bill protects the guaranteed Medicare benefits our seniors deserve. (Igor Volsky of the Wonk Room reminds us that McCain himself “was for far more drastic Medicare cuts before he was against them.)

As Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) noted during the debate this week, distortions are offensive under any circumstance -- but she believes they are especially disingenuous when they come from a group that has historically advocated for Medicare cuts.