Obamacare Cut Medicare, Created Rationing Board
Click here to watch the speech.
American seniors deserve the truth about the future of Medicare. Democrats in Washington are using scare tactics about Republicans and Medicare.
If Washington doesn’t make responsible changes now to the program, Medicare will run out of money in 13 years – and Medicare patients will run out of care.
Today, Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) talked about the need for members from both sides of the aisle to face the facts about Medicare. He also explained how the President’s health care law drastically cut Medicare and created a bureaucratic board that will ration seniors’ care.
Excerpts of his remarks from the floor of the U.S. Senate are below:
“My friends on the other side who attack Republicans for want to go address this problem in a responsible way tend to want to ignore this reality.
“To make matters worse, members on the other side actually voted for a health care law that puts Medicare on an even faster track to bankruptcy.
“In fact, the President’s health care law cuts $500 billion from Medicare— not to save Medicare, not to strengthen Medicare, not to secure Medicare for the next generation, no. They took $500 billion from our seniors on Medicare to start a whole new government program for someone else.
“So, it was no surprise to me when I read recently that those folks who take a look at the numbers, work for government, say Medicare is going to be broke five years sooner than even they had anticipated.
“It’s odd how Democrats never even mention this when they attack Republican plans to save Medicare. Well, when they run advertisements and hold press conferences focused on scare tactics, why don’t they ever explain their own $500 billion cut to Medicare?
IPAB
“It’s also odd to me that the Democrats never talk about the other very significant piece of the President’s health care law that attacks our seniors on Medicare. Hidden away in the bill, it is called the President’s Independent Payment Advisory Board or IPAB.
“As a doctor who has practiced medicine for 25 years in Casper, Wyoming, I can tell you what this board really is. It is a rationing board—a board to ration health care of our seniors in this country. Now, rationing some may say is a very strong word, but that is exactly what it is.
“This health care law creates an unelected, unaccountable board of Washington bureaucrats who will decide, will decide how much Medicare pays for certain Medicare services. Then providers all across this country will have to decide whether or not they can continue to care for America’s seniors.
“The other thing about this rationing board is it actually gets worse when you take a look at the details. It will be practically impossible for this Congress or any Congress to overturn the rationing board’s recommendations.
“I would say to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, if you’re so proud of the work you have done on Medicare, then you should stand up and defend this rationing board. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle should explain to American seniors how it will work and how it will impact their care.
“America deserves a thorough and honest debate about the future of Medicare and how we got to this point and how we can in a responsible way strengthen and secure Medicare for those on Medicare and for the next generation.”
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