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September 04, 2011 06:23 PM UTC

Tipton: Day Is Night, Black Is White, "GOP Budget Saves Medicare"

  • 37 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

A few things to discuss in an opinion piece from Rep. Scott Tipton, published Friday at the conservative politics site The State Column:

I support a plan that ensures today’s seniors and those a decade away from retiring receive all of their benefits in full, while strengthening and securing Medicare for future generations…

The message of seniors in the Third District is clear: any health care or budget solution should strengthen Medicare and secure it for future generations. I ensured that this was incorporated in the Republican budget, which we passed in the House earlier this year. The Republican budget keeps Medicare as it is for those 55 and older, while strengthening and sustaining the program for our children and grandchildren.

While the House has passed a plan, the Senate has failed to fulfill the promise to seniors for more than 850 days, refusing to pass a budget and put forward a plan to protect Medicare and Social Security.

The Republican budget strengthens Medicare and increases affordability by targeting waste, fraud and abuse, which according to Medicare’s chief actuary, costs as much as $150 billion each year. Our plan roots out the causes of waste, fraud and abuse, and fixes the problem…

The president’s plan raided $500 billion from Medicare to fund his health care mandate at the expense of seniors. Not only did the President’s plan fail to increase affordability, it restricts access to health care by empowering a board of 15 arbitrarily appointed bureaucrats to unilaterally decide when and how to cut Medicare funding.

This isn’t the first time Rep. Tipton has tried to assert that the so-called “Ryan Plan” GOP 2012 budget proposal “strengthens and secures Medicare for future generations.” And it’s not the first time Tipton has asserted that President Barack Obama’s health care reform legislation “raided $500 billion from Medicare…at the expense of seniors.”

They are both, one more time, false claims. Politifact on Obama’s “Medicare cuts”:

[T]he Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, tagged Obamacare by critics, doesn’t eliminate benefits.

Indeed, portions of the law improve benefits and coverage, according to Tricia Neuman, director of the Medicare Policy Project at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit health care research organization. Medicare will cover more preventive health care services, such as wellness visits, and recipients won’t face the “doughnut hole” gap in prescription coverage imposed under an existing Medicare program.

Other provisions reduce the growth in Medicare spending by helping the program operate more efficiently and fund other coverage expansions to the uninsured. Other provisions are designed to improve the delivery of care and quality of care, Neuman has said…

The 2010 health care law will phase out extra payments for Medicare Advantage programs to bring their costs in line with traditional Medicare. The law also calls for slowing increases in payment rates to hospitals and other service providers each year. Also, the law directs a new national board to identify $15.5 billion in savings, though the board – the Independent Payment Advisory Board – is prohibited from proposing anything that would ration care or reduce or modify benefits. [Pols emphasis]

Now as for the 2012 GOP budget plan Tipton is lauding? The very same Politifact:

[T]he bottom line is that under the Republican plan, those who reach 65 in 10 years would pay more out of pocket for private health care. That’s the idea, to reduce the cost of the Medicare program to the government. [Pols emphasis] Republicans argue it the most responsible way to make the program fiscally sustainable. Obama argues that cost is too high and that savings can be achieved in other ways. Again, that’s a matter of political debate. The CBO compared the Republican plan to the status quo and to a somewhat modified Medicare. The CBO says either scenario would cause crushing debt, and would likely encourage legislators to cut Medicare benefits in the future. Obama too, is proposing reform. Obama’s figure is close to what the CBO estimated in one scenario — the least costly one — that the Republican plan would cost consumers in 10 years compared to what seniors pay today.

You can see from the nonpartisan fact-checking above that despite Tipton’s claims, the budget plan he supported is designed to dramatically increase the amount that seniors beginning in 10 years must pay for health care–by about $6,400 per year based on the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate. On the other hand, the dire warnings of “cuts” to Medicare from Obama’s health care reform bill are false; “Obamacare” was in fact expressly designed to avoid reducing benefits to Medicare recipients.

So, if the truth of the matter is basically the exact opposite of what Tipton claims in this op-ed, and you can find that out in under five minutes of searching on the nation’s leading political fact-checking websites…why the hell would you write something like this?

That part is simple: cutting Medicare polls very, very badly. In a way, it’s an acknowledgement: that the drive to slash Medicare in the 2012 GOP budget plan was an absolute messaging disaster, just as we predicted it would be. Slowing becoming aware of this, the new message is all about how they’re not cutting Medicare. They’re “strengthening Medicare,” “increasing affordability” (this one is particularly bizarre), and it’s Obama who is “cutting Medicare!”

The more you look at what they’re trying to do here it becomes just breathtaking in its audacity: like watching a crime movie where you know the perp is outlandishly lying on the witness stand, but the jury believes him. Regardless of your position on health care reform, just consider the sheer chutzpah of this line of attack against the President. That Obama is the one who wants to “raid Medicare,” not the GOP. If Republicans are able to pivot like this from one position to its opposite, so freely abandoning the underlying facts–if you can get away with this, and Tipton is far from the only Republican trying, you can pretty much get away with anything.

Which could be the most unsettling part of all.

—–

UPDATE: More from ClubTwitty, who set to work debunking this column after its publication in the Grand Junction Sentinel today.

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37 thoughts on “Tipton: Day Is Night, Black Is White, “GOP Budget Saves Medicare””

  1. defeated over general opposition to the Ryan privatization of medicare plan are any indication, the mighty GO((T)P message machine is not getting the job done on this, their latest Orwellian construction..  The public isn’t buying it.

    1. The spouses company is planning on giving their employees a 2-3% pay bump in lieu of healthcare.

      They’re counting on the open market and willing to pay fine assessed by the government.

      Hey it’s cheaper, so you can’t blame them, can you?

        1. We are well on the way to single payer. I’ll make the argument that within 5 years you’ll be opining that every household making under $125k should be afforded state run healthcare.

          Think of the benefits.

            1. With more companies allowing their employees to go to the open market, off setting salaries, and turning Medicare into a voucher system we’ll drive more absolute competition into the market, thus bending the cost curves and improving service.

              Thats an over simplified version and we’ll need government sector employees to also join in the private market scheme too.

              1. offering anything seniors of the day could afford since most seniors had very limited fixed incomes and high health care costs.  There will be no companies lining up to offer anything worth having for the price of that voucher.  Your reply, dealing with you and your spouses (just how many?), all working age, and your insurance options still  wouldn’t be relevant, even if it wasn’t nonsense.

                1. Private insurers “of the day” don’t have a damned thing to do with it.

                  Private insurers don’t like insuring old people, period.  Even now.  Especially now.

                  Period and exclamation point.

                  The hardest place to be is between 59-1/2 when you can actually retire on your own dime, 62 when you qualify for Social Security, and 65 when you qualify for Medicare.

                  If you are stupid enough to make room for younger people in the workforce by retiring at age 59-1/2 when you can draw from your personal 401-K, or at age 62 when you can draw Social Security,  you are absolutely fucked as far as getting health insurance from private sources.

                  I’d be happy to have been paying full price for Medicare starting at age 59-1/2.  At least I’d have some kind of insurance.

                  Being in afternoon kindergarten, ‘Tad still has a ways to go before he understands what a drag private health insurance companies are on the economy.

                  1. the reason for coming up with medicare at that time.  I didn’t say it was better now.  What I said was:”There will be no companies lining up to offer anything worth having for the price of that voucher”.

                    Of course they don’t like insuring people just as they get to the years when they use the most and most expensive health care.  Whatever they do offer will be prohibitively expensive for all but the wealthiest. Ordinary people have no hope of decent healthcare as seniors without medicare as public program.

                    Not only that but, at the time, many suggested why not just make it a program for everyone, not just seniors.  The prevailing feeling was that the public wasn’t quite ready for that step yet but it would naturally the next step in the not too distant(from that point in time) future.  It just made sense.

                    We just paid the first very affordable premium on my husband’s brand new medicare, though he isn’t retiring yet. Fortunately you don’t have to get medicare.  It  would also be much more affordable to younger healthier people than any insurance they can get now unless they are among the lucky few with employers providing great insurance.  Having them involved, not just those over 65, would  make it a very sustainable, economical program. And everyone on Medicare is welcome to look for additional coverage in the private market so there is still choice and a role for private insurers.  

                    It took much less time and effort to get him signed up for medicare than anything we’ve ever experienced buying our own on the private market as self employed people and it’s much more for much less than the arm and leg high deductible, high co-pay plans that are the only thing available to the self employed.

                    Everything came through in less time than we were told it might take. We didn’t have to dig up medical records or answer a long involved scary list of questions.  I would be thrilled if they lowered it to my age but there is no logical reason why we shouldn’t just go all the way with it and have the youngest and healthiest participate and dramatically lower the per person cost and also the cost of ER treatment for young people who don’t get coverage at work and don’t make enough to afford it privately.

              2. if I translate this

                thus bending the cost curves and improving service.

                for you, Tad, my Tad…?

                That should read…”thus bending the cost curves and improving profits”…

                seriously Tad, your delusional belief that private insurers will pass cost savings on to customers is astonishingly naive…even for you.

                I am loath to admit it, but I worked as an insurance salesman and manager for a few years in my early twenties. Do not ascribe ANY altruistic motives to the insurance industry… unless you want me to SERIOUSLY laugh in your face.

  2. But everything I write is straight up Joseph Goebbels and Nazis and I have to delete it. I’m beginning to wonder if the whole Godwin’s Law thing is meant to protect the right wing from this moment.

    Fuck it. “The Big Lie.” Read all about it and get back to me (this means you, GOP trolls).

    1. And since I’ve already gone full Godwin, from above:

      The Big Lie (German: GroГџe LГјge) is a propaganda technique. The expression was coined by Adolf Hitler, when he dictated his 1925 book Mein Kampf, for a lie so “colossal” that no one would believe that someone “could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.”

      Your witness, 20th LibArapitad Boy Hiking the Appalachian Trail.

      1. No one knows whats in it, it will probably hurt the weakest in our society the most, and of course it’s diverting trillions of dollars thru yet another government rake-off scheme.

        1. this asshole has ever dumped on this forum

          This legislation was debated for over a year and the resulting compromises discussed ad-nausea.

          This is something we do know about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Patient Rights:

          Children with pre-existing conditions will be able to get affordable health care.

          How about this one:

          Insurance companies won’t be able to rescind policies of people who do get sick.

          I have yet to see a single Republican proposal to actually rein in health care costs outside of shielding the big hospital corporations from liability.  Not one fucking idea to deal with rising health care costs.

          Oh and of course you are a fucking chickenshit who can’t even pronounce the name of the legislation correctly because it would be acid in your mouth to say patient rights and affordable health care.

          What a brainless fucking asshole as usual.  

          2. tell us how you really feel.  🙂

            I am beginning to buy the notion that the Libmonster is a computer program designed to issue responses to key words with random stupid shit ’cause…

            how can a human who is so consistently stupid survive long enough to learn to type?  

          3. who have to buy expensive insurance on the private market, such as the self-employed and those whose employers don’t offer affordable coverage.  For us, rates still keep going up and more of us are still forced to give up our already lousy high premium, high deductible, high co-pay coverage even though our insurers aren’t dumping us. I am still worse off in terms of coverage then before. I’m happy for those such as children born with medical issues and the sick who can no longer lose their insurance but for a healthy self employed person like me, there is little to be happy about.  

            There is no reason to believe that when the mandate kicks in, insurance will be any more affordable for us.  Mandate without an affordable pubic option is entirely unacceptable and unjust, handing people like me over to the already profit bloated private insurance industry on a silver platter. An informed public really ought to take to the streets under the banner ‘No mandate without public option”.

        2. Fewer people than ever are sure of what’s in the PPACA.  Of course that’s mostly because any factual information has been drowned out by asshole Republicans who care more about the insurance companies than about people.

          In the case of the ACA, it seems they care more about being anti-government than about saving money, too.  But, hey, it’s America – it’s their right.

  3. if Tipton is a moron and really believes the Boehner/Cantor talking points he’s handed on this stuff; or acting on the cynical belief that 3rd CD voters won’t know or care enough to see through this BS. Either way, we’re in grave danger if we let him and his ilk slide into a second term. Once that happens, he’ll be a lifer.

    1. It’s both. Tipton believes his talking points.

      And too many 3rd District voters, especially those who spend their days listening to Rushbo and their evenings to Hanity, believe every word of it.

      We can only hope that Pace will step it up and that enough non-rightie voters in the 3rd get out there for him.

  4. Please compare the Ryan Plan with NO Medicare whatsoever.

    The voters will reward Tipton for having the courage to address the problem, and history will show that they were right. By the CBO’s projects re: Medicare’s insolvency, it won’t be very long.

      1. He will protect the current generation of seniors from any changes to their benefits, while putting Medicare on a sustainable path for the next generation. That is what the Republican budget does.

        Do you have a better idea, Democrats? Show me a budget. Oh, there is no Democrat budget, that’s right!

        1. I don’t care how many times he repeatedly said one thing, the fact that he also said the opposite thing repeatedly means he’s a liar. Glad you aren’t dumb enough to disagree with that.

        1. EIS Solutions handles government affairs and public relations for companies involved in the energy industry.

          The one pushing for oil shale exploration/exploitation on Western slope?

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