Republican Chair Accuses Obama Of Having “Blood On His Hands,” Claiming “He Stole” From Medicare

Reince Priebus on Meet the Press:

“This president stole, he didn’t cut Medicare, he stole $700 billion from Medicare to fund Obamacare,” Priebus said. “If any person in this entire debate has blood on their hands in regard to Medicare, it’s Barack Obama. He’s the one that’s destroying Medicare.”

But the right-wing meme that President Obama would cut $700 billion from Medicare ignores where that money would come from, that it cuts waste, fraud and abuse, extends Medicare, and that the Romney/Ryan plan hurts seniors while the Obama plan doesn’t, as Sahil Kapur explains:

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found last month that the Medicare provisions in the health care law would save $700 billion over a decade and extend the life of Medicare.

The cuts don’t target beneficiaries — they come largely in the form of reduced payments to hospitals, discounts on Medicaid prescription drugs, and pay cuts to private insurers under Medicare Advantage. The hospital and drug industries endorsed the law despite the cuts.

The Ryan plan, by contrast, would transform Medicare into a structure that rolls back the coverage guarantee for the elderly. In 10 years, the program would be replaced with a subsidy that beneficiaries can use to purchase insurance from a menu of private plans and a government option. CBO projects that in some cases, the subsidy won’t be sufficient to cover seniors’ medical expenses.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.