Romney Would Repeal Obama's Medicare Cuts
Posted at 7:45 a.m. on Aug. 17, 2012
In a break from his running mate Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget proposal and contrary to what pundits had assumed, Mitt Romney announced that he “would repeal President Obama’s Medicare cuts rather than using the savings to shore up the program,” The Hill reports.
“The Affordable Care Act cuts $716 billion in Medicare payments to private insurance companies, doctors and hospitals. The cuts are designed to slow the rate of growth in Medicare spending, and they helped offset the cost of the healthcare law’s coverage expansion. Ryan’s budget would keep the $716 billion in Medicare cuts while repealing the rest of the Affordable Care Act… The campaign confirmed Wednesday that Romney, in a break with Ryan, would repeal the Medicare cuts outright, rather than leaving them intact and redirecting the savings.”
However, the Associated Press notes that restoring those cuts “could backfire if he’s elected. The reason: Obama’s cuts also extended the life of Medicare’s giant trust fund. By repealing them, Romney would move the program’s insolvency eight years closer, toward the end of what would be his first term in office.”
“Obama’s cuts were not directly aimed at Medicare’s 48 million beneficiaries; instead they affect hospitals, insurers, nursing homes, drug companies and other service providers. Simply undoing the cuts would restore higher payments to those service providers. And that would cause Medicare to spend money faster.”
Pingback: How Does Cutting Medicare Make It Last Longer?