“Medicare Scare-Mongering,” New York Times, 9/26/09
- The New York Times decried and debunked Republican “scare-mongering” on what health insurance reform would mean for Medicare.
- As the Times says, for Republicans to “posture as vigilant protectors of Medicare” reeks of “cynicism and hypocrisy,” considering that they have “in the past tried to pare back Medicare.”
o As recently as this past April, Republicans in Congress voted overwhelmingly to end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher program that provides a fixed sum of money to buy private insurance.
- With their recent scare tactics, the paper says, Republicans have been “obscuring and twisting the facts and spreading unwarranted fear.”
- In fact, the Times points out, “the various reform bills now pending should actually make Medicare better for most beneficiaries — by enhancing their drug coverage, reducing the premiums they pay for drugs and medical care, eliminating co-payments for preventive services and helping keep Medicare solvent, among other benefits.”
- President Obama believes Medicare is a sacred trust with America’s seniors. Reform protects Medicare. It doesn’t use dime of the Medicare trust fund to pay for reform and it strengthens the financial health of the program.