You haven’t seen gutter, Mitt Romney, and that’s your WHOLE PROBLEM.

Becasue we know granny jusst loves saving and using those COUPONS.

REPOSTING this video here, because it is INDICATIVE of what the RYAN BUDGET PLAN WILL DO TO MEDICARE. DEMAGOUGERY MY ASS

From CNN

Romney won’t name differences with Ryan on Medicare

Miami, Florida (CNN) – Mitt Romney sidestepped questions Monday about any differences he and Paul Ryan might have on Medicare reform.

“We haven’t gone through piece by piece and said ‘oh, here’s a place where there’s a difference,'” Romney told reporters on an airplane tarmac in Miami. “I can’t imagine any two people even in the same party who have exactly the same positions on all issues. but my plan for Medicare is very similar to his plan for Medicare.”

On a visit to Florida Monday, Romney found himself besieged by reporters’ questions on the issue. But he would not describe any differences he and Ryan had on the program or whether voters were ready for the kind of overhaul Ryan had suggested.

Ryan’s budget incorporates the $700 billion in savings achieved under Obamacare, which come from eliminating subsidies to insurance companies, cutting waste and fraud, and reforming delivery systems that will help keep seniors healthy. Because of these savings, President Obama extended the life of Medicare and is providing new benefits, including closing the prescription drug doughnut hole, and ensuring seniors have access to preventive care with no out of pocket cost.

Not only does Mitt Romney want to get rid of these new benefits when he repeals the health care law, but the Romney-Ryan budget would actually end Medicare as we know it by pushing seniors into the private market and raising their health care costs by thousands of dollars per year.

HERE ARE THE FACTS:

From the Boston Globe- The Romney-Ryan $700B Disagreement

by John McDonough August 12, 2012 05:49 PM

To begin, it is  undeniable  that Congressional Democrats and the Obama White House chose to pay for nearly half the cost of the ACA by reducing Medicare’s expected rate of growth by about $450 billion between 2010 and 2019.  The number, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO),  is now up to around $700B because three early no-or-little reduction years have been supplanted by three full impact years (2013-2022).

None of these reductions were financed by cuts to Medicare enrollees’ eligibility or benefits; benefits were improved in the ACA.  Cuts were focused on hospitals, health insurers, home health, and other providers.  Except for insurers, all the affected groups publicly supported the reductions to help finance the ACA’s expansion in health insurance to about 32 million uninsured Americans.

Snip

During the Senate and House debates on the ACA in 2009 and 2010, Congressional Republicans pilloried Democrats for cutting Medicare $500 billion to finance ObamaCare.  After the law was signed on March 23, 2010, Republicans brought the drumbeat to the campaign trail, urging seniors to vote Republican to repeal ObamaCare and stop the Democrats’ cuts to Medicare.  In November 2010, senior citizens voted Republican by the largest margin in modern political history and gave the GOP control of the U.S House of Representatives and a stronger minority caucus in the Senate.

With me so far?  All’s fair in love and war.  Live by the sword, die by the sword.  Politics ain’t beanbag.  So true.

Then it gets really interesting.

In the spring of 2011, the new Republican House majority votes overwhelmingly in favor of the budget proposal advanced by the new House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan.  Ryan proposes a controversial restructuring of Medicare to move it in a premium support/voucher direction beginning in 2023, a proposal that gets lots and lots of attention, pro and con.  Ryan’s budget proposal also includes complete repeal of the ACA, with one little-noticed exception, the $500 billion in ACA Medicare reductions.

Snip

From USA News & World Report- Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan’s Medicare Hypocrisy

Obama, Romney and the GOP has started charging, “robbed”  Medicare to pay for his health reform program. It’s true that Obamacare cut  Medicare reimbursements (not benefits).  That would be a clean political hit attack but for one small problem  the  Romney-Ryan team has: Ryan’s budget keeps those $700 billion in cuts. Oh,  and Romney has  endorsed Ryan’s budget.

If that sounds confusing, here it is more simply: Romney and  Ryan are  condemning Obama for Medicare cuts that they both endorse. Like I   said, it’s pretty breathtaking.  But wait, there’s more

Washington Post’s Fact Checker: Paul Ryan’s Budget “Repealed The Obama Health Care Law But Retained All But $10 Billion Of The Nearly  $500 Billion In Medicare Savings, Suggesting The Actual Policies Enacted To Achieve These Spending Reductions Were Not That Objectionable To GOP Lawmakers.”

From The Wall Street Journal, whom by the way made the case for Romney-Ryan ticket

THE RYAN BUDGET KEEPS MEDICARE CUTS THE GOP ONCE CRITISIZED

A spokesman for the House Budget Committee said that the Ryan plan allocates $10 billion to preserve the Medicare Advantage program for seniors. The health care law cut $136 billion over 10 years from that program, which allows seniors to enroll in private managed-care plans. The spokesman also noted that under the Ryan plan the Medicare spending cuts would go toward deficit reduction, rather than creation of a new spending progr

PAUL RYAN’S BUDGET ENDS MEDICARE AS WE KNOW IT AND SHIFTS COSTS ON TO SENIORS

The Ryan Plan Would End Medicare As We Know It And Raise Seniors Health Costs By Thousands Of Dollars Per Year.

“The budget resolution developed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) would make significant changes to Medicare. It would replace Medicare’s current guarantee of coverage with a premium-support voucher, raise the age of eligibility from 65 to 67, and reopen the ‘doughnut hole’ in Medicare’s coverage of prescription drugs. Together, these changes would shift substantial costs to Medicare beneficiaries and (with the simultaneous repeal of health reform) leave many 65- and 66-year olds without any health coverage at all.” [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, “Medicare in the Ryan Budget,”3/28/12]

The Ryan Plan Raises The Eligibility Age For Medicare From 65 To 67, And Puts In Place Caps On Spending That Could Shift Costs To Seniors As Health Care Costs Rise.“Under Ryan’s blueprint, the Medicare eligibility age would rise over time beginning in 2023 from 65 to 67. In the future, seniors would be given government assistance to purchase private health-insurance plans or could continue to take part in the current fee-for-service model. Spending would be capped, meaning risks and costs could shift to seniors as health-care costs rise.” [Washington Post,3/29/12]

Congressional Budget Office:  Under The Ryan Plan, “By 2030, 29% Of Medicare Beneficiaries Would Be Subject To The Spending Constraints Established For The Program…That Share Would Rise To 91% By 2050.”“Under the specified paths, by 2030, 39 percent of Medicare beneficiaries would be subject to the spending constraints established for the program (that is, they will have entered the program in 2023 or later); that share would rise to 91 percent by 2050. Net federal spending on Medicare—including offsetting receipts, which are mostly payments of premiums—would be 4¼ percent of GDP in 2030 and 4¾ percent in 2050, CBO calculates (see Table 2).4 In contrast, by 2050, net Medicare spending would grow to 6½ percent of GDP under the baseline scenario and to 7¼ percent of GDP under the alternative fiscal scenario.” [Congressional Budget Office, “The Long-Term Budgetary Impact of Paths for Federal Revenues And Spending Specified by Chairman Ryan.

THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT STRENGTHENS MEDICARE BY EXTENDING ITS SOLVENCY, CRACKING DOWN ON FRAUD AND WASTEFUL SUBSIDIES TO INSURANCE COMPANIES

Politifact Rated Romney’s Claim About Obama And Medicare “False,” Noting That Romney Falsely Implied That Obama Cut Benefits When In Reality, The Affordable Care Act Increases Benefits For Seniors.“Romney said, ‘only one president has ever cut Medicare for seniors in this country and it’s Barack Obama.’ The statement gets it wrong on every front. The Medicare belt was tightened in 1981 and 1982 under Reagan, in 1989 under the first President Bush and again in 1997 under Clinton. So Obama is in no way the only president to cut the program. Further, by specifying that Obama cut Medicare ‘for seniors,’ Romney seems to mean that the president slashed benefits, not just the program’s spending. That’s even more egregious. Other presidents have made changes to Medicare that reduced benefits for seniors, while the health care law Obama signed actually increases them. That’s a lot of inaccuracy in a single sentence. We rate Romney’s statement False.”

The Affordable Care Act Extends The Solvency Of Medicare Part A To 2024, Eight Years Longer Than Without Health Care Reform.“The Medicare Trustees Report released today shows that the Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund is expected to remain solvent until 2024, the same as last year’s estimate, but action is needed to secure its long-term future.  In 2011, the HI Trust Fund expenditures were lower than expected. Without the Affordable Care Act, the HI Trust Fund would expire 8 years earlier, in 2016. SOURCE

Affordable Care Act Reforms To Crack Down On Fraud And Abuse In Medicare Are Among A Number Of Measures To Save Medicare $200 Billion Through 2016.“The Affordable Care Act: Achieves short-term savings of over $200 billion in Medicare through 2016 according to the independent CMS Actuary…resulting in immediate benefit to the Medicare Trust Fund…A number of critical Medicare policies in place now are achieving huge savings for beneficiaries and taxpayers while laying the foundation for long-term success and sustainability of the program. These steps reward quality, get better value for beneficiaries and promote savings through innovation….Fighting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse and Getting Better Value for Durable Medical Equipment: $7.8 Billion in Savings.” [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,04/23/12]

The Affordable Care Act Reduces The Practice Of Significantly Paying More To Private Insurers That Contract With Medicare Than It Would Cost To Cover Those People In Traditional Medicare. “The Affordable Care Act reduces the practice of paying substantially more to private insurers that contract with Medicare than it would cost Medicare to cover those individuals in traditional Medicare.” [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 04/23/12]

THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE PROJECTS THAT THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT WILL SAVE  $711 BILLION FROM MEDICARE

July 2012: The Congressional Budget Estimated That Repealing The Affordable Care Act Would Increase The Deficit, And Direct Spending As A Result Of Changes To Medicare Would Increase By $711 Billion.“The ACA also includes a number of other provisions related to health care that are estimated to reduce net federal outlays (primarily for Medicare). By repealing those provisions, H.R. 6079 would increase other direct spending in the next decade by an estimated $711 billion.” [Congressional Budget Office, 7/24/12]

THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT HAS ALREADY REDUCED THE COST OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS FOR MILLIONS OF MEDICARE RECIPIENTS AND PROVIDED MILLIONS OF AMERICANS IN TRADITIONAL MEDICARE WITH PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE BENEFITS

The Affordable Care Act Closes The Prescription Drug Coverage Gap—The “Donut Hole”—In Medicare Part D By 2020.“The Affordable Care Act includes benefits to make your Medicare prescription drug coverage (Part D) more affordable. It does this by gradually closing the gap in drug coverage known as the ‘Donut Hole.’…the gap is closed in 2020.” [healthcare.gov,08/03/11]

In 2011, Nearly 3.6 Million Medicare Beneficiaries Who Were In The Medicare Part D Coverage Gap Received Discounts On Prescription Drugs.[Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services, 02/02/12]

In 2011, Medicare Recipients Have Saved More Than $2.1 Billion Through The Prescription Drug Coverage Gap Discount Program In The Affordable Care Act.[Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services, 02/02/12]

Medicare Recipients In The Prescription Drug Coverage Gap Saved An Average Of $604.[Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services, 02/02/12]

Under The Affordable Care Act, At Least 25.7 Million Americans In Traditional Medicare Received At Least One Free Preventive Benefit In 2011, Including The New Annual Wellness Visit.“According to preliminary numbers, at least 25,720,996 million Americans took advantage of at least one free preventive benefit in Medicare in 2011, including the new Annual Wellness Visit. This represents 73.3% of Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries.” [Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 02/2012]

HERE’S THE BOTTOM LINE- Hat tip TOD

OBAMA CARES