The lies and obfuscations of Romney/Ryan on Medicare would be laughable if their consequences weren't so cryable.
A concise reckoning of the divergent Medicare futures can be found at "The Difference between Obama and Ryan's Medicare Plans" on TPM.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/difference-between-paul-ryan-barack-obama-medicare.php
Among the differences you might already know (Obama's reduced payments to pharma, insurance, and hospitals, Ryan's voucher plan, etc.) is one you may not: the Congressional Budget Office's conclusion that Ryancare (Medi-scare?) would cost seniors an extra $6,500 per year. Do the Republicans really want to continue this conversation?
A salient point is made by a commenter on the story (Rick Brew), concerning the savings from phasing-out of the Medicare Advantage experiment, a privately-administered program that has turned out to be not-so advantageous (the federal government spent 12 percent more on Medicare Advantage than it did for comparable care under traditional Medicare):
"The experiment has failed. The companies still demand the premium over regular Medicare for Medicare Advantage which is taken from Medicare tax money. The only money removed from 'Medicare' is the unearned premium the insurance companies are getting to cover administration, executive salaries, and dividends. There is no cut to basic Medicare benefits or to health care suppliers. The only cut is to insurance companies getting money they did not earn.
"This is just like taking the unearned fees banks were getting for issuing student loans. The loans are now getting more funding and costing less. Medicare will see the same positive results from the cuts."
A concise reckoning of the divergent Medicare futures can be found at "The Difference between Obama and Ryan's Medicare Plans" on TPM.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/difference-between-paul-ryan-barack-obama-medicare.php
Among the differences you might already know (Obama's reduced payments to pharma, insurance, and hospitals, Ryan's voucher plan, etc.) is one you may not: the Congressional Budget Office's conclusion that Ryancare (Medi-scare?) would cost seniors an extra $6,500 per year. Do the Republicans really want to continue this conversation?
A salient point is made by a commenter on the story (Rick Brew), concerning the savings from phasing-out of the Medicare Advantage experiment, a privately-administered program that has turned out to be not-so advantageous (the federal government spent 12 percent more on Medicare Advantage than it did for comparable care under traditional Medicare):
"The experiment has failed. The companies still demand the premium over regular Medicare for Medicare Advantage which is taken from Medicare tax money. The only money removed from 'Medicare' is the unearned premium the insurance companies are getting to cover administration, executive salaries, and dividends. There is no cut to basic Medicare benefits or to health care suppliers. The only cut is to insurance companies getting money they did not earn.
"This is just like taking the unearned fees banks were getting for issuing student loans. The loans are now getting more funding and costing less. Medicare will see the same positive results from the cuts."
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