March 15,2019
Two Pinocchios: “Democrats Engage in ‘Mediscare’ Spin on the Trump Budget”
So-Called Cuts Are Not Coming At The Expense Of Seniors”
Glenn Kessler
March 15, 2019
“Democrats
have claimed [President Trump] wants to cut $800 billion to $850 billion.”
“…it’s
a misleading figure. Trump is proposing to move two parts of Medicare —
payments to hospitals that treat many patients without insurance and payments
to hospitals that educate medical residents — to another part of the budget. So
it looks like a $269 billion ‘cut’ to Medicare. But it reflects spending that
would mostly continue, at an inflation-adjusted rate — just not within the
Medicare system.”
“Moreover,
most of these so-called cuts are not coming at the expense of seniors; they are
intended to reduce out-of-pocket costs for seniors by making the program more
efficient.”
The
Pinocchio Test
“There
are two problems with the Democratic ‘Mediscare’ spin. First, they are using a
number that includes ‘cuts’ that are mostly paper shuffling. The $850 billion
is too large when talking about the impact on Medicare.”
“…it’s
a simplistic way to frame the policy debate, potentially making it more
difficult to restrain the growth of entitlement programs as the baby boom
generation moves into retirement.
“Democrats
earn Two Pinocchios…”
Two Pinocchios
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