From
Associated Press...
FACT CHECK: Democrats
distort GOP Medicare plan
By Calvin Woodward, Associated Press
June 2, 2011
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are distorting the fundamentals of a
Republican plan to reshape Medicare, falsely accusing the GOP of
pushing a proposal that tells the elderly “you’re on your own” with
health care and that lets insurers deny coverage to the sick.
Medicare always pushes hot buttons with voters. Both parties know this
and spare no effort to exploit the issue, with truth as the frequent
casualty. That’s the case now as Democrats go after a far-reaching plan
introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and largely embraced by
congressional Republicans.
The new chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, Rep. Debbie
Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., led the charge this week in an appearance on
CBS’ “Face the Nation.” The DNC and its Republican counterpart are the
primary money-raisers in politics and often temples of exaggeration as
they convert controversy into cash for the campaigns.
A look at Wasserman Schultz’s statements and how they compare with the
facts:
___
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: “They would take the people who are younger than 55
years old today and tell them: ‘You know what, you’re on your own. Go
and find private health insurance in the health care insurance market;
we’re going to throw you to the wolves and allow insurance companies to
deny you coverage and drop you for pre-existing conditions. We’re going
to give you X amount of dollars, and you figure it out.’”
THE FACTS: First, the Ryan plan explicitly forbids insurance companies
from denying coverage to anyone who qualifies for Medicare, including
those who have pre-existing illnesses. Second, it does not merely send
money to the elderly and leave them to their own devices in arranging
for medical care.
The plan calls for Medicare to stay the same for people 55 and older.
But starting in 2022, new beneficiaries would get their health
insurance from competing private insurers instead of from the
government. The government would offer subsidies to pay for the
coverage and set standards that insurers must follow. One condition,
says the plan, is that participating insurers “agree to offer insurance
to all Medicare beneficiaries, to avoid cherry-picking and ensure that
Medicare’s sickest and highest-cost beneficiaries receive coverage.”
Nor would the government merely send “X amount of dollars” to the
elderly and let them figure out whether they can afford coverage. The
subsidies would go to the plan selected by the beneficiary. The
nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, in analyzing the plan, said it
would not let insurers charge more to sick people. Premiums would be
the same for everyone of the same age.
The Ryan plan raises plenty of questions about costs to the elderly
over time and the adequacy of care. The Congressional Budget Office
said future retirees would pay more under Ryan’s plan than if they went
into traditional Medicare. By 2030, a typical 65-year-old would be
paying two-thirds of his or her health costs.
But Wasserman Schultz and some other Democrats who accuse the GOP of
wanting to “end Medicare” have skipped past the complicated crux of
that debate, instead attacking provisions that do not exist.
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