Citing a Washington Post piece, Republicans suggest that healthcare reform will destroy Medicare. "From the raw numbers, it appears seniors are the net losers under bills approved by three House committees..."
Eek!
Of course, the piece mentions that it "appears" to hurt seniors, because the reporter wants to set up the myth to debunk it. The report says it doesn't hurt seniors:
From the raw numbers, it appears seniors are the net losers under bills approved by three House committees last week. The legislation trims $563 billion out of Medicare's growth rate over the next 10 years while pumping in about $320 billion.
Without any changes, the program is expected to cost about $6.4 trillion over the same period.
But three retiree groups and several independent policy analysts say most of the proposed savings affect providers, rather than beneficiaries, and have the potential to improve quality over the long term. Discounts for prescription drugs, higher reimbursements for many doctors and elimination of co-payments for preventive services are some of the ideas advocates applauded.
"I don't see anything that will affect beneficiaries' access to care, though some of it will depend on implementation," said Joseph Baker, president of the Medicare Rights Center, a nonprofit group focused on older Americans.
So this is a deliberate lie. Republicans like to say they have "honest disagreements" with Democrats plans. Apparently these disagreements are a secret, because I have yet to see one that was honest.
Every Republican talking point in this "debate" so far has been a lie. And we now see that when they came up with a new talking point, it's a lie too. And we can safely assume that the new stuff they'll come up with tomorrow will be lies.
How good can your argument possibly be when you have to lie to make it work? If all these lies mean anything, they mean that the GOP has no ideas. Not one. Not a single, solitary one. All they have are lies.
If you're not insulted by that fact and are totally fine with being lied to by the GOP, then you won't be insulted when I tell you you're an idiot.
