Medicare Cuts - Who's Really Pushing Grandma over the Cliff?

Recently a political TV advertisement by the Democratic Central Committee showed a Congressman Paul Ryan look-alike pushing an elderly lady over a cliff. The advertisement was an attack on the plan to privatize medicare by GOP Congressman Paul Ryan from Wisconsin.

The advertisement is a little ironic considering the medicare cuts that President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress and Senate passed under the Affordable Health Care for America Act. According to the Congressional Ways and Means Committee summary, the legislation reduces Medicare spending by over 1/2 trillion dollars. A summary of the Medicare cuts by Democrats is provided below. You can decide who's really pushing granny over the cliff.

2009 • Medicare cuts to hospitals begin for patients in long‐term care on 7/1/09 and for inpatient and rehabilitation facilities in 2010.

2010 • Medicare cuts to inpatient psychiatric hospitals.

2011 • Medicare Advantage program cuts begin.

2011 • Medicare cuts to home health begin.

2011 • Medicare reimbursement cuts when seniors use diagnostic imaging like MRIs, CT scans, etc.

2011 • Medicare cuts begin to ambulance services, ASCs, diagnostic labs, and durable medical equipment.

2011 • Prohibition on Medicare payments to new physician‐owned hospitals.

2011 • Seniors prohibited from purchasing power wheelchairs unless they first rent for 13 months.

2011 • New Medicare cuts to long‐term care hospitals begin on 7/1/2011.

2012 • Additional Medicare cuts to hospitals and cuts to nursing homes and inpatient rehabilitation facilities begin in fiscal year 2012.

2012 • Medicare cuts to dialysis treatment begins.

2012 • New Medicare cuts to inpatient psychiatric hospitals begins on 7/1/2012.

2012 • Medicare cuts to hospice begin in fiscal year 2013.

2013 • Medicare cuts to hospitals who treat low‐income seniors begin.

2014 • More Medicare cuts to home health go into effect.

2014 • Government board (IPAB) begins submitting more proposals to cut Medicare.

2014 • Medicare payment cuts for hospital‐acquired infections begin by October 2014.

2015 • More Medicare cuts to home health begin.

Do you remember President Barack Obama's health care pledge at the annual meeting of the American Medical Association on June 15, 2009?  He said, “no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what. My view is that health care reform should be guided by a simple principle: fix what’s broken and build on what works.” Well, it seems his promise did not include our parents and grandparents on Medicare.