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Subscribe to RSSRepublicans have claimed President Obama's health care reforms slashed more than $700 billion from Medicare, but the president said he has strengthened the health insurance program. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.
DUBUQUE, IA -- President Obama today pushed back on Republican claims that he’s cutting Medicare and turned the criticism back on his challengers Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, accusing them of wanting to overhaul Medicare to the detriment of seniors.
Speaking to a crowd of more than 3,000 on the banks of the Mississippi River here, the president first countered charges from Romney and his surrogates that his administration is cutting more than $700 billion in Medicare spending to transfer it to the new health care law.
“They are just throwing everything at the wall to see if it sticks,” he said. “Here’s what you need to know: I have strengthened Medicare. I have made reforms that have saved millions of seniors with Medicare hundreds of dollars on their prescriptions,” he continued, as the crowd cheered.
As First Read has written before, Obama’s plan would slow the growth of Medicare spending, but the cuts would mostly affect insurance and health-care providers, not seniors. Plus, Paul Ryan’s budget plan contains the same cuts.
After defending his own plan, the president shifted to offense, tying Romney to Ryan’s Medicare plan, which would give future seniors a voucher or premium support -- to purchase private insurance or purchase it through Medicare.
Larry Downing / Reuters
President Obama speaks at a campaign event at the Alliant Energy Amphitheater in Dubuque, Iowa, August 15.
“Mr. Romney and his running mate have a very different plan. They want to turn Medicare into a voucher program.,” he said. “That means seniors would no longer have the guarantee of Medicare; they’d get a voucher to buy private insurance.”
He wrapped up his riff on Medicare with a sharply worded contrast between his plan and that of his Republican opponents.
“Their plan ends Medicare as we know it. My plan reduces the cost of Medicare by cracking down on fraud and waste and subsidies to insurance companies. Their plan makes seniors pay more so they can give another tax cut to millionaires and billionaires.”
In response to Obama's volleys, the Romney campaign doubled down on its claims, releasing a statement from spokesman Ryan Williams that the president "has a long history of launching shameful political attacks on Medicare -- but he's the only person in the race who has actually cut Medicare. President Obama cut $716 billion from Medicare to pay for Obamacare and our nation's seniors will pay the price with higher costs and fewer benefits."
Steve McMahon, Anne Kornblut and Michael Steele join The Daily Rundown to discuss the latest happenings on the campaign trail.
Williams added that Romney "will always protect this vital program for seniors and strengthen it for future generations."
The president was introduced here by his wife Michelle, who joins him for a full day of campaigning in Iowa. She took a softer tone, reminiscing about their 2008 days in the nation’s first caucus state that jump-started Obama’s campaign.
“Thank you for the kindness and generosity and love that you have shown us throughout the state,” the first lady said to cheers.
She seemed to make a call for a more issues-based discourse in contrast with the name-calling and hot rhetoric that has marked the last few weeks on the trail.
“Because of you,” Michelle said of Iowa voters, “Barack and I will always remember what this process can be about at its very best. Every election, you remind us what democracy is all about. It is about people getting into the issues, discussing them with their neighbors,” she said.
The Obamas have one more campaign stop in Iowa -- further east in Davenport.
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So Ryan and Repubs feel that giving some voucher to everyone who gets medicare will take care of it based on the assumptions and headaches listed below:
1. Voucher will cover a good insurance policy totally, no out of pocket any more than they would have paid under current medicare.
2. The insurers will write contracts that are understandable by all independent 65 yearolds? 75 year olds? 85 year olds? 95 year olds. etc. none of them will be scammers, you know they will certainly want to be regulated and/or police their own industry.... or are they going to create another industry of "coaching/advising old folks on how to get proper med insurance" and add more administrative costs...but I guess it creates more jobs we may need now that they shipped our jobs making real physical products to China, other foreign places.
3. Somehow and some way there will be savings in the whole system and my guess is in denying procedures or higher copays, etc. to prove the overall cost of their new program will be less than current Medicare costs per person to the Treasury...and how do we do this with paying Ins CEOs bonuses and staff salaries that are added into the system (or are they firing all gov Medicare workers/managers and basically outsourcing those gov jobs to the insurance industry?). Maybe this is just another large gov worker sector outsourcing plan of Ryan's and next he will want China and India and Mexico and etc. to compete with the contracts for running these insurance programs, so maybe we won't get new jobs out of it if all can be done over the phone/internet.
4. The most important assumption is that cutting the $billions of checks annualy to send the Vouchers out will not become a politic hostage like about every budget item has become or almost become at one time or the other - remember Gingrich shutting down Fed Gov a couple days in 1990s and senior got their soc security checks late? Medicare looks a little more sure to be consistent with getting the gov to cut the checks under all conditions and political budget hostage situations...of course the 95 year olds can walk out of their apartment when they feel sick and still have not got their voucher on time, put out their thumb and hitch hike to the nearest ER to hope it is still operating and save their life to see if that voucher comes some day.
Romney and Ryan want to privatize Social Security and give the money to Wall Street. AND what is this about Ryan being against abortion even in the case of RAPE or INCEST?
Wrong again, it gives people the OPTION to go to a voucher program or stay with the traditional Medicare program. Unlikely the Obamacare cost cutting panel which decides what medical treatment you can have. If you don't like what they say, TOUGH!!!
Wrong Ray W.
The option is not in Ryan's 2011 plan, Ryan's 2012 plan or Romney's plan.
The option is part of the Ryan-Wyden position paper, which has not been drafted into legislative language.
Ray- imagine a plan where healthy elders go to private insurance companies leaving medicare with all the people who cant go elsewhere- what do you think that does to medicare and what impact on the budget. Or are you saying insurance companies will charge the same for a 83 year old healthy and one with a pace maker and diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. All at the same rate- sure ya betcha
Yosolo...Thanks for providing zero proof of anything ..from your mouth to your ears my friend.
The only thing shameful about this campaign is how rom;ney CHEATS on HIS TAXES and doesn't pay any taxes for over a decade due to his TAX CHEATING then he covers-up and lies to the American public while demanding the keys to the kingdom. What a farce both rom;ney and ry;an are. Way I see it both of these charlatans can get lost ry;an has been accusing senior citizens of bankrupting the Nation. Which is ironic since he voted for two unfunded wars based on known lies and a prescription drug plan that cost a trillion for the government and left seniors paying the donut hole and he continually votes to give the richest 1% trillions in tax giveaways and he is so inept at business he doesn't even expect anything in return for the cool trillion. Just free money for his cronies like Rom;ney the CROOK. Nixon Rom;ney two peas in a pod. Honestly, the GOP is so bad for the Nation it should be deemed unpatriotic and borders on treason.
G-9 if you have any evidence of this charge, you should go to the IRS who has copies of the Romney returns. But you or any Democrat won't do that because the charge is pure B.S. But you would rather talk about this than the record of disaster. An economy which has gone nowhere and shows no sign of going anywhere. An Obamacare programs which takes $716 billion from Medicare putting it further in danger for senior. Almost $6 trillion in new deficit spending which we borrow from China. With this record, no wonder the Democrats want to talk about income taxes or anything but the Obama record.
Hey Ray Number one, I do have proof of the "charge." Number two, it is not my duty to go the IRS to expose your candidate's fraudulent tax deductions. Instead I will post them here. He claimed business expenses as tax deductions in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 for travel to and from Utah to Boston. Additionally, the CROOK deducted limo services, lavish meals with Bain clients and Bain executives and five-star hotels all deducted illeglly from his taxes the day he "retroactively retired" from Bain. So when you decide to protect a criminal and to defend a CROOK you should know what it is he has done before you open your yap, got it Ray W.? Rom;ney by his own admission stated that he, and I quote, "pays as little in taxes as legally possible." Every business writes-off the expense of their executive travel. This CROOK for political reasons doesn't want to be associated with the very company he started and that hew continues to receive compensation from in the ball park of $100 million. Additionally, this CROOK intentionally undervalued the prices of stocks that were deposited in his tax deferred IRA that is capped at $30,000 a year in legitimate deposits. I got a question for you Ray W: Why didn't Ann Romney, supposedly a moral person question the need for her husband to have several secret off-shore bank accounts in the 4 countries that are most notorious for being tax havens for unscrupulous people? If you are married go home and explain to your spouse that you have several secret off-shore bank accounts and see how well that goes over with the misses. I think the saying is "like a lead balloon." I guess she didn't want to bite the hand that feeds her? What is your explanation?
Hey Ray W.: What about your loser ry;an who the GOp leadership pushed on his sword to make him join a losing ticket and effectively end his political career by being associated with a CROOK? ry;an has been accusing senior citizens of bankrupting the Nation. Which is ironic since he voted for two unfunded wars based on known lies that cost the Nation over two trillion dollars and a prescription drug plan that cost a trillion for the government and left seniors paying the doughnut hole and he continually votes to give the richest 1% trillions in tax giveaways totaling at least another $4 trillion and he is so inept at business he doesn't even expect anything in return for the cool $4 trillion. I can hear ry;an now at the lobbyist meeting, "You guys just take the $4trillion. It will shrink the size of government and we can finally do away with Social Security and Medicare. The Government doesn't need the money anyway and you rich guys are so swell for hosting us, you deserve it." Idiots like ry;an have been voting for years to give CROOKS like rom;ney trillions of dollars for supposedly "creating jobs." Ask yourself how many net new jobs did the GOP create under the eight full years of Bush/rom;ney failed economic policies? NONE. ZERO. NADA. Idiots like ry;an don't know better and get sucked in by these fancy business men with all their glitter and flash and promises of billions of free money for all the cronies like Rom;ney, the CROOK. If it was so naive it would be sweet that you accept a CROOK like rom;ney at his word especially since he is a liar that has changed his tune more times than can even be counted or remembered even by the CROOK himself. I do find it ironic the GOP considers themselves the party of business yet they are so stupid they vote for tax breaks and they get ZERO in return. It is called complicity.
If you believe the President, Obamacare takes money out of seniors pockets and tells them it is making their life better. Back when Obamacare was passed, the Democrats told us they were taking $500 billion from Medicare. Now we know by today's numbers the amount is actually $716 billion or almost 50% higher. Something the Obama campaign said in 2008 they would never do.
Taking $716 billion in waste away from the insurance companies is a GREAT step forward. Unlike the GOP voucher plan that makes it real simple. The government cuts two or three checks for 100s of millions to two or three insurance companies and the seniors get a voucher. What a rip off. The GOP lies because Social Security is fully funded until 2037. It is funny because what happens after 2037? The GOP would have you believe it continues to accrue costs until it goes bankrupt. This is false. After 2037 which by no coincidence is the year that the Baby Boomers will almost certainly all be deceased. In reality the line on the graph at that time will start to go back down and the Social Security pool will not be stretched as thin as at the height of when the Baby Boomers are drawing funds to which they are entitled. Basically, the Baby Boomers retiring caused the fund to be diminished but not entirely gone. The reason Paul Ry;an only shows the chart out to 2037 is because the trend line starts to plummet after the Baby Boomers are gone. Any young person who is younger than the Baby Boomers will in effect be drawing more benefits than current retirees because there will be less beneficiaries drawing from the fund than when the Baby Boomers are drawing their benefits for low and behold about 17 years which ironically is the number of years before the voucher plan kicks in. People who are 55yoa will not draw their Social Security and Medicare until they turn 67 under current laws but the GOP also in addition to the vouchers plan wants to raise the age to 72. You guessed it 17 years from 72 for retirement is 55. ny one who votes for the GOP is agreeing to be robbed blind. 72-17=55
Well obviously someone is lying. My money is on the Mittster and Lyrch they can't seem to get their stories straight in the Republican camp so probably the lies come from them. This is not new information about Obama's cut to Medicare and the Democrat explaination has been the same since day one. I think the Republican camp is running scaered because they know their message is not ringing true with Americans. Watch over the next gfew weeks as the try to change their tune. I don't trust them and they will not get my vote.
I see one story coming out of the Romney camp. Obama makes a charge then the Romney people show from fact that these attacks are unfounded. Please show us any facts supporting these charges. It is factual that you can remain on Medicare as it is, the Ryan Plan does nothing to remove anyone over 55 from Medicare. All we hear from the Obama campaign is charges with zero backing
can you give us a concrete example of an Obama charge where the Romney people show from fact that Obama's attacks are unfounded. Would really like to see an example of what you are referring to
How can you trust the President either? The President very emphatically stated that GITMO would be closed within one year of his taking office. It is still open. The President does not come through on all that he promises.
Plain and simple. Obama says Romney/Ryan will cut Medicare for seniors.
False, under the Ryan plan no Senior will be affected at all. No one 55 and older will be affected.
Those under 55 will be presented with a choice. They could also chose not to be affected.
Taking 716 billion from Medicare, like Obama is doing, to fund Obama Care will affect seniors and make an already going broke system get there faster.
Ryan's plan gives Medicare hope of surviving, Obama has offered no solutions just robbing a fund.
ok drewster show me as my post says below they dont basically want to end social security and medicare? i will give ryan credit, he basically does and is not quiet about it, are you the same? yes i agree it is vertually unstainable as is , and must be ended to give the huge tax cuts romney and ryan seek, are you as least as honest as ryan to admit this is your plan? please say you are?? why i love ryan hes honest - the rest of you on this blog and most goper's are not!!
Ray W- your question is not a two sentence reply. The romney/ryan plan as outlines calls for a voucher tied to current cost of insurance and increasing in the future based upon cost of living index. The medical insurance premiums have been increasing for the last 15 years at 3-400% the cost of living index. So by their own numbers seniors will have to pick up a larger and larger cost of the insurance as they grow older.
If the Ryan plan allows seniors to choose between the two and if private insurers are able to cherry pick the elderly and insure the most healthy leaving the sick and infirm covered under medicare that is a recipe for disaster.This is what is called a death spiral- medicare will go under as it is not sustainable.
So I again request a specific area where Romney has demonstrated he was correct and Obama is wrong.
Charles- Obama taking 716 billon from medicare affected the insurance companies(medicare advantage) and providers. He took the money and guarantees these same people additional business by insuring 30 millon new previously uninsured customers who were not paying into the system.
How this is weakening medicare is bizare in the least. the post 37.6 explains the second part of your question.
Here are a few reasons why,
The Medicare Advantage plans that President Obama wants to completely cut. The benefits that over 10.5 million seniors would probably lose as a result of President Obama's cuts in Medicare Advantage include:
all but eye and vision covered under medicare- they CHARGED 20% more to process. You guys love to bitch about deficits why is medicare advantage worth 20% more to the taxpayer?
Why was Medicare created? Was it because our politicians wanted to do something nice for our elderly?
It was created because the elderly could not get health insurance, and screamed to their representatives. Insurance companies do not want to insure the elderly. No Profit. Even with vouchers the cost of insurance will be unaffordable to many seniors. If you can't afford it, don't get sick, or at least die quickly.
Because people have paid their entire working life for it. Cut somewhere else.
You paid all your life for medicare- medicare advantage was a boondoogle created under Bush II. Why do I have to pay for your extra expense again?
one thing obama and the dems need to stay very focused on is medicare and social security, face it the gop wants to end them both always have and always will and they are behind this ryan plan to basciacllay end them both with a voucher or privatising them both and basically ending them, anyone saying otherwise is crazy, the gop hated social security from day one they caled it and rightfully so pure socailism, why they call it social security , it is pure socialism its social (socialism) security , those saying otherwise are wrong period, hats off to the tea party now the biggest entitlement and most likely ssi will be ended with a ryan romney win unthinkable before 2010 but now a reality , my hats off to ryan and the gop unthinkable as ending unions as ryan did in wisconsin is a reality , we may very well go back to the walton days where you take care of a parent, a grand parent your selves and no uncle sam taking care of them, we go back to the strong christian days where your on your own with gods help, unthinkable till now but with a romney ryan win a reality
I'm sorry everybody but if you are a wage earner making less than $100,000. a year the Republicans are going to raise YOUR taxes. If you are under 55 years old you have paid into medicare and social security fo Thirty or more years for nothing. Cutting taxes on the wealthy raising them on the middle class and raising the military budget will not result in lowering our debt. Use your better senses and realize the truth Mitt ain't got it and Lurch is ridiculous.
sounds like yourn on my side why did i think otherwise ?? tells you how virol it has become
Our debt has nearly tripled under Obama. He promised to cut it in half in two years.
There are 780,000 more women unemployed now than when Obama took office.
The black unemployment rate is at its highest level since Obama was elected and is around 16.7%
People on government dependency is at its highest level in history at 47%.
21 million house holds are currently on food stamps.
So when Obama and the Democrats say they are looking out for seniors, please do some research. You will find quite the opposite.
these are all attributable to the Republican economic nighmare and the 180+ and counting filibusters- the highest total in US history. The republicons meet the night of Obama's inauguration to discuss how to make his Presidency a failure. This is sourced in Draper's book, now Manasse's book, Sen Spector news interview given Dec 2009, and numerous news articles.
werll charles are you a senior now ?? and if so you will deny your social security, your medicare what ever we bought and paid for you and be totally on your own as you say , is that your case or are you another lyin sack of sh-- goper who trully is willing to die and depend on their own which is it??
Obama had the presidency, the House and the Senate controlled for two years. He didn't need Republicans Obama Care is proof of that. Stop the non-sense.
Wasn't it Obama that said Republicans can come along for the ride but have to ride in the back?
We are seeing just how @!$%#ty a driver Obama is.
troll, I'm not a senior, but I have worked for the same firm for over twenty years since graduating college. I have paid a substantial amount into SS and would like to see something left in it for me in about 23 years, but I'm not going to rely on it being there unless something is done. Ryan has a plan that makes sense and would save SS for me Obama has no plan to save it or restructure it, just taking from it to support another plan that has no chance of survival.
Charles - If nothing is done to Social Security you'd get 80% of what you'd expect to get. That's without any changes such as means testing or changing the age requirements.
And Obama hasn't done anything to Social Security.
Medicare is projected to to bankrupt (broke) in ten years as it stands. I won't be eligible for 23 years. Doing nothing except raiding it to to pay for Obama Care won't keep it as it is.
Fact: under Obamcare Medicare was cut 700 billion.
Fact: Romney has stated that he will repeal Obamacare and restore the cuts Barry made to Medicare.
Next Topic
thinking long- the 700 billon referred to is medicare advantage- a boon doogle given to private for profit insurers where they charge more to process medicare claims.
I have never seen nor heard any flat promise to take the 700 billon and put it back into medicare after repealing the ACA. Can you source this committment?
Thinking Long Term:
Fact: Obama cut $781 million from medicare providers, not medicare recipents.
Fact: Obama used a portion of those savings to provide free preventative health care checkups for Medicare recipents, and to close the donut hole in medicare.
Fact: People on medicare have not seen any costs shifted to them.
Fact: Under Romney, if your voucher doesn't cover the cost of health care, you pay the difference, estimated at 60% of the cost of medicare in the future.
I love Medicare. I have already paid for Part A and pay for Part B also have a suppliment to cover meds,, teeth, eyes and what Medicare doesn't cover. Premiums are lower than the private insurance I used to have and I see no difference in my medical treatment, quality of drugs or anything else. Social Security and Medicare are among the very few government programs that havee been successful especially since their 70ish years of existance.
And if you want to keep what you paid for you better vote for the Romney/Ryan ticket. Obama cutting 716 billion will affect those benefits.
Alder
Thanks to Obama you are going to lose the medicare advantage.
Humana has already informed me that the vision and dental plan is going away under Obama.
see post 40.1
Alder
Correction Social Security was enacted in 1935 and medicare was enacted in 1965 and the earlier version of medicare advantage was enacted in 1972.
medicare advantage replaced the old medicare a plan in 2003. Medicare a was created in 1997 not 1972 as you state(per wikipedia)
i guess my question to you gopers and rightfully so especiaally since most of you are way better off , work and the rest of us are the free loaders you describe, you are very willing to take care of garndma , grandpa, you dont want them depening on a government check be it for their income, there health care etc, you want grandma to move in with you, its the good christian thing to do, and you will supply all her needs , not uncle sam or anyone else the way it should be, thats the gop cry now so you can give a huge tax cut to the top who hire people in your oppinions, is that your stand with the ryan romney presidentcy?/ if not explain it to the rest of us??
Not a troll
the voucher system is an option which is the exact same amount paid out by the GAO for medicare costs patient on average.
You can stay on the defined benifit plan or you can take the voucher option which is the same amount and shop for your own plans.
Under this option,if you get the same care or better care cheaper,you keep the savings and it does not need to be reported.
If the plan you choose is more expensive, you get an tax deduction subsidy
So Medicare is not going away, you are given choices to stay on the current medicare system from CMS or you can get it on on your own.
like I mentioned on an earlier post Kaiser Health News article on Mitt Romney on health care has valuable information on what Romney is proposing.
I encourage everyone to read it carefully with an open mind.
actually john many would destroy you with your post, actually I LIKE IT AND WILL CHECK INTO it thankyou so much for your post and your contributions, I know your on the otherside but love your style please hang around we need you
not a troll
My wife has medicare A and B and medicare advantage and I am dealing with a lot of head aches now.
I am 52 so I have been dong a lot of homework on the health care issues.
She is going to lose Medicare advantage under Obama
John- Kaiser Health News is a frequent publication and I have not found your article. I am curuious on if the patient had a shortage on his voucher versus actual cost as to where a tax deduction comes into play. Remember, if i am in the 25% bracket and I get a deduction of $1000 that is a $250 actual refund or is it a tax credit which is dollar for dollar?
I have NEVER heard of any flow back on the voucher- if it covers the difference then where are the savings- they either pay it direct or back to the patient so the cost should equalize UNLESS private insurance is cheaper but EVERY study has shown administrative cost on a single payor system(medicare) is lower then for profit insurance companies. EVERY STUDY
John - Get a grip. Nothing you said is true. The way you make is sound Romney and Ryan keep Medicare or improve it. Total BS...
The estimate is by the time those 55 are able to receive Medicare the voucher will pay for 40% of the cost, leaving you with coming up with the other 60%. Thats a fact....
Ryan if you haven't listened has said Medicare is going broke.. and he's right. The difference is he's asking you to pick up the difference in the costs so the Government doesn't....and he's even so kind he's going to give $5 trillion of the savings to the wealthy to help them.
Don, Non-Sense. Do some research. Sources??????????????
Ryan's plan offers future Medicare recipients the same insurance as Government workers.
at what cost and who pays?Explain the difference between a voucher plan(what Ryan called it in Ryan 1.0) and a premium support model( Ryan version 2.0 with help from that word smith Frank Luntz).
What is the difference between the two?
actually thinking long thanks for your contributions nice to not get all the obama is a communist etc and get some real data as you supplied thankyou very much
why do we have medicare advantage. The private companies said they could cut the cost and provide better services. They charge the taxpayer up to 20% more then original medicare.This was based with the other UNFUNDED Bush/RYAN boondoogle medicare part d.
Now at a time when we are struggling to pay our bills why again are we to pay private FOR PROFIT health insurance carriers more?
Medicare Advantage programs will be cut back and possibly eliminated under the ACA.
Only 4 and 5 star rated MA programs will be supported.
demtobone
Medicare only pays 80% of costs and the rest is paid by the patient. Medicare advantage is a medicare supplement that fills that gap.
My wife has Humana advantage which fills that gap and includes vision,dental, and proscriptions for 29$ month.
Dont forget we pay for medicare at 2.65% from each paycheck
john- medicare is comprised of part a and part b. You get part a free(hospitalization) and part b for doctor and out patient you pay additional for. Yes there is 80% coverage(typical of private insurance plans also). You should purchase a medical supplemental plan which picks up the difference. Typical cost is about $200 a month per individual.The medicare advantage you refer to is a private insurance carrier that provides your medicare coverage instead of having a medicare card. They process the payments and the cost is higher then what medicare costs to process. This is a fact and has been researched often and confirmed.
So I think we are discussing different issues?
Conservatives like to complain that Barack Obama is the most liberal president we’ve ever had, a closet Marxist who’s determined to turn America into a socialist hell.
Informed liberals say in confidence, "they will have to hold their noses to vote for him, contribute money or volunteer to campaign for him and they don’t like it"!
Obamacare is like trying to pick up Obama from the clean end. Obama and Obamacare are colon babies.
Why do all the liberal anylyses of the Ryan plan to revamp Medicare leave out the fact that those 55 and older will see no changes to their plan? Ryan's mother is on Medicare, why would he want to change her coverage?
Why is she on Medicare anyway? The Ryan family is rich enough to pay all her retirement costs themselves.
Freeloading millionaires spending taxpayer dollars.
I'm more concerned about my kids and my grandkids. Why would you think I'd like the fact they'ed get screwed and not me.
And if you don't know Ryans Mother is a millionaire...several times over. She doesn't need medicare, she could afford any plan...
Ryan is not considered rich.
Re elect
Any of us who have worked paid into medicare at a 2.65% rate and medicare only covers 80% of the costs the rest is the patients responsibility.
I am sure that Ryan,s mother has an exceptional advantage plan that covers 100%
Steveno - No, Romney never said he'd show his tax returns if Obama provided his transcripts. Total BS..
No president has ever provided copies of his transcripts. Fir st, it's not necessary, and second all you need to know is he graduated, and he graduated with honors.
I wish people would learn how to read. Or better yet think for themselves. ACA isn't perfect but it has done some good things. The savings (cuts) that make the hospetals give Romney moaney are in things like not paying for the same test four times because four doctors all wanted it. All you have to do is look at a hospital bill to see where the are ripping your insurance company off.
Making people responsable for there hospital bills by making them carry insurance is a good thing, if not we all have to make it up.
Limiting how much you insurance company can make over there costs is a good thing, I would take 20% any day.
Cutting fraud in billing is good, isn't it.
Well visits are a good thing.
Yes there are somethings that could use fixing but fix them.
But Ronmey will end all these good things on day one.
we as a nation pay a lot more for our health care then people in other industrialized nations. We pay for service, not results. So doctors are motivated to provide procedures, insurance companies just raise premiums.
The ACA begins to address these issues.
Great post Bobnstuff
bobnstuff
Romney will not end good things from day one.
Read Kaiser health news article-Romney on health care.
charles- number one Obama dis not have control of the congress for two years- Sen Brown was elected Jan 2010 and that ended the super majority- reason for 180+ and counting filibusters as the dems had no way to end the filibuster.
What is Ryan's plan to save ss? The plan is funded at 100% for about 10 more years and at a 90% rate for another 25 years.
eliminate the cap of $105k(approx) earnings and the fund is 100% funded for as long as the eye can see.
Medicare is the one that has issues.
I believe rational discussion would actually be possible if we would all do less name calling and cheerleading. We need to get down to business & face the fact that the country we all love is teetering on the brink with many areas of our government & social programs needing reform.
The bad news is...we are being driven apart, my friends. ENCOURAGED to hate each other as America crumbles.
So...will we all just hold onto our individual ideas and biases, or will we come together to solve these issues and make this country the great nation it was & can be again?
Are Conservatives living in the same universe as the rest of us??
How hard is it to understand Seniors pay a health insurance premium just like anyone else, The major difference being that Seniors have about 100 million people in their insurance co-op which in turn drops their premium drastically, Insurance companies who were desperate to repeal Obamacare got kicked in the a_s by SCOTUS when they upheld the law as Constitutional,,,,,So the next best move,,,,,,,,Put 100 million Seniors on private policies which will cost them hundreds if not thousands more per year and restore the insurance companies outrageous profit margin.
WAKE UP!!!
Good job Obama, just throw their crap back at them! They know it's crap, and so do the folks who don't watch Fox News. Fight on Mr. President, fight on!
Obama's reckless deficit spending has screwed you, your children and grandchildren!
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) releases a report every year on the “health” of the largest benefit programs in U.S.
In 2012, the CBO analyzed the impact of Obama’s massive deficit spending on Medicare and concluded that the program would run out of money by no later than 2024 as a result! The report warns that Obama’s reckless spending and worsening the budget deficit is likely to move up the doomsday time line!
In 2012— the CBO report now says money for Social Security will run dry by 2035 – three years earlier due to Obama’s runaway budget deficit!
What could disrupt this projection completely is the budget deficit for the “disability program” within Social Security. In 2012, the CBO said it “Social Security disability” program is now is set to be bankrupt the by 2016
clearvoice- do you think a higher unemployment number reduces the number of people paying into social security? Could this be the cause for the shortfall- so solve the jobs issue and much of the deficit also goes away.
medicare is a different matter and yes we do need to address- lets do it as adults and have a fact based discussion and not resort to death panels and the like.
Fact- i've read that 1/2 of medicare money gets spent during the last 6 mos of life. Makes sense. Lets say a male has a life expenctancy of 76 and a 75 year old contracts lung cancer. After surgery and chemo he has a relapse. He is now 76 years old. A second round of chemo has a success rate of 15%- do we has a nation have a policy that says we will not only do the second but as long as the patient wants treatment he can have a third or fouth or eighth round of treatment.This is our current structure. Is this an appropriate way to spend our resourses. As an individual you can appreciate why you are in favor of continuing treatments but is this the correct approach? Different nations have handled it differently. But these are the types of issues we need to discuss in an open and frank manner.
Agreed.. Without question, higher unemployment is a factor!!! The Medicare program is absolutely unsustainable as it is currently written and an estimated 60% of physicians will no longer accept Medicare patients as under Obamacare.
In 1989, Romney led Bain Capital's purchase of Damon Corp., a medical testing
company, and took a seat on the Board of Directors to better manage it. During
Romney's four years, Bain tripled its investment, and Romney personally made
$473,000 -- while Damon plumped its profits with Medicare fraud (running
thousands of medical tests doctors didn't want, and billing Medicare for them).
The company pled guilty to crimes committed during his tenure and paid a record
fine of $119 million. Company President Joseph Isola pleaded no contest to
fraud, and a vice president was also convicted.
Romney claims he "uncovered" the fraudulent claims and "took corrective
action," but court records show that he did not notify prosecutors or stop the
fraudulent billing. He just asked company lawyers what changes they could make
to avoid prosecution, after the feds' LABSCAM prosecution targeted a different
medical testing firm. The cheating continued, prosecutors say, until the day
Bain sold the company to Corning. Furthermore, Damon Corp. was required to list
in various SEC filings any significant legal risks it faced. Romney made no
mention of the fraud he "uncovered," even though it led to a $119 million fine,
the largest in history. Damon Corp. is another Bain acquisition that later went
bankrupt, killing over a thousand jobs -- but not before Bain made $7.4 million
in profit. By amazing coincidence, Rick Santorum also made a lot of money off of a
company involved in Medicare fraud: Universal Health Care. -- Sources
According to Glen Ford, the executive editor of the Black Agenda Report, black America is worse off under Obama than it has been in at least the last 30 years.
The festering, pus filled moral and spiritual vacuum which has consumed the Obama administration and Democratic party should be front and center in taking the blame for America’s downfall! A quick review of world history provides proof that no society can survive in the type of increasingly morally corrupt environment being bred within the Obama administration and Democratic party.
• Jobs: The president has presided over the loss of 2.2 million jobs.
• Debt: Obama has increased taxpayer debt by $5.6 trillion. Every day,
the nation runs a deficit of $4.2 billion, 350% worse than the Bush record
• Foreclosure and Bankruptcy: 2.4 million homes have been foreclosed on.
Homeowners and businesses have declared 4 million bankruptcies.
• The Stimulus: Obama promised that his $787 billion stimulus would save or create 3.5 million jobs by the end of 2010. He came up 7.3 million jobs short of his goal, according to the Heritage Foundation.
• Healthcare: Obamacare did not reduce healthcare costs as promised and is in fact responsible for increasing costs in 2011. Health insurance premiums are up 13 percent and will break Medicare within 3 years!
• Poverty: Nearly 3 million more Americans live in poverty than did before Obama took office.
When placed in perspective with an “almost criminally negligent” handling of American fiscal policy, one begins wonder if there is an agenda at work. Is anyone in America better off under Obama? The answer is a resounding NO!
No Obama couldn't twitch his nose and make it all better in three & a half years!!!! I mean after all it only took 30 years to get here under mostly republican presidents.
The last one (BUSH) dam neer took us all out and i for one am NOT giving another one (especially Romney) that chance.
At what point does Obama take responsibility for the economy?