Here's an update from congress's most articulate voice in opposition to the recently passed healthcare reform bill. Every time I hear Paul Ryan speak, I'm struck by the common sense solutions he brings to the table. Here's his latest.
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Setting the record straight: How the health care bill will truly impact Medicare beneficiaries Seniors in Southern Wisconsin will soon receive a mailing from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that dramatically mischaracterizes the impact of the recently enacted health care overhaul. The taxpayer-funded mailing titled, "Medicare and the New Health Care Law: What it Means for You" does more to mislead beneficiaries than it does to educate them. I've received a number of complaints and inquiries from seniors throughout Southern Wisconsin regarding this brochure and I think it is important to set the record straight. The mailer produced by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services [CMS], the agency directly responsible for managing the Medicare program, describes so-called "benefits" seniors can expect to see and additional "improvements" to the Medicare program. Unfortunately, many of the "benefits" in the mailer have already been explicitly refuted by the Federal government's own non-partisan experts. Among the most troubling claims made in CMS' brochure: -Claim: "Your choice of doctor will be preserved". -Reality: Because of the massive payment cuts to medical providers required by the health care law, more than 15 percent of Medicare physicians will go bankrupt and stop practicing within the next ten years. (Source: http://www.cms.gov/ -Claim: "If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan, you will still receive guaranteed Medicare benefits." -Reality: This contradicts Medicare's Chief Actuary, who said the more than 10 million Medicare beneficiaries who use Medicare Advantage would see their benefits cut and costs increase due to $500 billion in cuts to Medicare. (Source: http://www.cms.gov/ -Claim: "The new law creates a new voluntary insurance program called CLASS to help pay for long-term care and support at home". -Reality: This new program has been described by Medicare's actuary as "facing a significant risk of failure" due to its dubious financing scheme that could create an "insurance death spiral". (Source: http://www.house.gov/ -Claim: The health care law makes "needed improvements that will keep Medicare strong and solvent." -Reality: This stands in stark contrast to statements made last month by Medicare's own chief actuary that "the long-term viability of the Medicare Update Reductions is doubtful." Medicare - a critical program that provides health security for millions of seniors - is going bankrupt. Medicare faces a $38 trillion shortfall - $38 trillion in future promises that the government cannot keep. Far from making Medicare "strong and solvent," this law raids $528 billion from Medicare to fund a new open-ended entitlement. (Source: http://www.cbo.gov/ The inaccuracies and misleading statements contained in CMS' brochure hinder efforts to help seniors understand the law's complex maze of new mandates, taxes, and restrictions. Seniors don't need another sales pitch from this Administration. They deserve clarity, transparency and the truth. My colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee have called for a full review of this mailing by the Government Accountability Office and vetted by the appropriate Congressional committees, as has been done in the past with similar publications. As we fight to repeal and replace this ill-conceived overhaul with fiscally responsible, patient-centered alternatives, I will continue to push the Administration to honestly and accurately inform patients and doctors of how they will be affected by the health care bill. I remain committed to supporting alternatives like A Roadmap for America's Future, which fixes what's broken in health care without breaking what's working. The Roadmap provides universal access to affordable health coverage, not by expanding government, but by reinforcing the role of consumers - patients - in a truly competitive marketplace. The plan also takes on the necessary task of restructuring the government's medical entitlements, making them sustainable for the long term. For additional information on A Roadmap for America's Future, please visit: www.americanroadmap.org |
