Our Health Policy Matters

If you care about Medicare, then who lost last week’s Presidential debate?  Perhaps we all did. That’s because both candidates favored some cuts in the Medicare program.  And cuts translate into a real impact on real people. But no cuts could mean something even worse - unsustainable levels of spending in the Medicare program. The question is what’s the lesser evil – a cut in payments to providers or a cut in benefits to individuals?  That’s the choice President Obama and Governor Romney gave us. President Obama favored cuts in payments to providers.  Governor Romney favored cuts in benefits to individuals.  The difference in their positions became clear as Romney pressed his point about the $716 billion in “cuts” that Obama supported in the Affordable Care Act. The “cuts” Obama favored actually fell into two categories that are built into the law – provider rate reductions and cuts to private insurers offering Medicare Advantage plans...

If you care about Medicare, then who lost last week’s Presidential debate?  Perhaps we all did. That’s because both candidates favored some cuts in the Medicare program.  And cuts translate into a real impact on real people. But no cuts could mean something even worse - unsustainable levels of spending in the Medicare program. The question is what’s the lesser evil – a cut in payments to providers or a cut in benefits to individuals?  That’s the choice President Obama and Governor Romney gave us. President Obama favored cuts in payments to providers.  Governor Romney favored cuts in benefits to individuals.  The difference in their positions became clear as Romney pressed his point about the $716 billion in “cuts” that Obama supported in the Affordable Care Act. The “cuts” Obama favored actually fell into two categories that are built into the law – provider rate reductions and cuts to private insurers offering Medicare Advantage plans...