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October 19, 2003
Die, Damn it, Die!
Medicare still on table in Dean balanced-budget plan
Gephardt and Kerry are still going on about Dean cutting Medicare.
"When you cut Medicare to balance the budget, you end up hurting the program, hurting beneficiaries, causing their costs to go up." Gephardt said by telephone before a campaign event in Cedar Rapids. "It doesn't work."
I really wish this attack line would die. Gephardt's criticism is far too simplistic. I think there could be a lot of support for means-testing Medicare benefits and also raising payroll taxes beyond its current limits. Seniors who depend on these programs tend to be pretty savvy since it has such a large effect on them.
The politically potent seniors advocacy group AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, opposed the cuts proposed in 1995, which equaled $270 billion. Clinton vetoed the budget bill, but two years later he signed a budget that included $115 billion in cuts to Medicare.
Reducing Medicare's rate of growth doesn't necessarily mean cuts in benefits, said AARP government affairs director Mike Naylor.
Options include lowering the rate for the Medicare tax, increasing premiums or co-payments, and cutting reimbursement to providers.
"When you talk about cuts and slowing the rate of growth, there are a lot of ways you can do that," Naylor said. "In fairness to Dean, leaving Medicare on the table covers an awful lot of options."
Thank you! Finally a voice of reason from a group that actually represents the constituents.
Posted by glyphic at October 19, 2003 06:19 PM