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President Trump portrayed himself Thursday as the nation’s foremost defender of Medicare against what he termed the “socialist” “Medicare for all” proposals being offered by Democrats in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail.
“As long as I’m president, no one will lay a hand on your Medicare benefits,” Trump told an audience at a big Florida retirement community. During the day, he signed an executive order purportedly designed to “protect and improve” the program.
Here’s the truth of the matter: Trump’s executive order is a stealth attack on the very program he’s swearing to protect. Buried within the order is a provision that would destroy Medicare by driving its costs to an unsustainable level. At the same time, Trump is proposing to turn more of the program over to commercial insurers. Put simply, he’s proposing to privatize Medicare.
via Los Angeles Times.
Related Reading:
Trump Spreads Medicare Falsehoods in Florida.
Meanwhile, a President who was willing to strip more than 20 million Americans of their health coverage in the blink of an eye has the gumption to paint Democrats as “extremists” on health care. If Medicare is under threat from anyone, it’s Trump and his allies in Congress.
When it comes to healthcare – and especially seniors’ health care – Trump chooses to dwell in an Orwellian ‘opposite world’ where Republican attempts to cut and privatize Medicare are actually meant to “protect” the program. Apparently, President Trump and his GOP allies believe they must destroy Medicare in order to save it.
U.S. President Donald Trump will unveil an executive order on Thursday aimed at strengthening the Medicare health program for seniors by seeking to improve its fiscal position and offer more affordable plan options, administration officials told Reuters.
The order, which Trump will discuss during a visit to a retirement community in Florida known as the Villages, is the Republican president’s answer to some Democrats who are arguing for a broad and expensive expansion of Medicare to cover all Americans, plans that Republicans reject.
It follows measures rolled out in recent months by the administration designed to curtail drug prices and correct other perceived problems with the U.S. healthcare system, though policy experts say those efforts are unlikely to slow the tide of rising drug prices in a meaningful way.
via Reuters.
Related Reading:
Seniors Won’t be Fooled by Trump’s Medicare
Publicity Stunt.
Medicare Cuts
Despite candidate Trump’s promising older people “not to touch” their earned benefits, the president proposes to slash Medicare by $846 billion over ten years, which would accelerate the insolvency of the Medicare trust fund. So far, Congress has rejected these cuts, but if the President wins re-election, all bets are off.
Medicare Advantage Bias
Bloomberg reports that the President will use his Florida appearance to promote private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. This would be consistent with the administration’s unabashed advocacy for Medicare Advantage over traditional Medicare.
We have been skeptical since last fall about President Trump’s promises not to touch Social Security and Medicare, partly because of the privatizers and cutters he appointed to high office. Now, according to an article in today’s Washington Post by reporter Dave Weigel, Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, is actively agitating for the Trump administration to “work around” those promises.
More on this issue here.
President Donald Trump is leaving Washington for the first time since House Democrats ramped up their impeachment inquiry _ and he’s heading straight into the warm embrace of a Republican stronghold.
Trump is due to visit The Villages, a sprawling retirement hub about an hour north of Orlando that is a must-stop for GOP candidates. The president plans to announce an executive order to protect Medicare and address an invitation-only group during his visit Thursday.
via Associated Press.
Related Reading:
Trump Spreads Medicare Falsehoods in Florida.
President Trump used a speech at a Florida retirement community today to spread falsehoods about Medicare in front of an audience of seniors. “Medicare is under threat like never before,” he said this afternoon at the Villages retirement community outside Ocala, accusing Democrats of undermining a program they enacted in 1965 – and have been fighting to protect in the face of unrelenting attacks from conservatives ever since.
Meanwhile, a President who was willing to strip more than 20 million Americans of their health coverage in the blink of an eye has the gumption to paint Democrats as “extremists” on health care. If Medicare is under threat from anyone, it’s Trump and his allies in Congress.
“Medicare is under threat like never before,” Trump said. “Almost every major Democrat in Washington has backed a massive government health care takeover that would totally obliterate Medicare.”
Far from “obliterating’’ Medicare, Sanders says his plan would lower costs and provide new benefits, including coverage for long-term care. Medicare, which covers about 60 million seniors and disabled people, is the government’s flagship health care program.
Trump also signed an executive order directing his administration to pursue changes to Medicare. Much of what he wants to do is geared toward enhancing Medicare Advantage, the private insurance option picked by about one-third of seniors.
via Washington Post.
Related Reading:
President Trump used a speech at a Florida retirement community to spread falsehoods about Medicare in front of an audience of seniors.
While the Trump administration pumps up private Medicare Advantage plans with goodies like rides to the doctor and gym memberships, why hasn’t the president supported at least one of several Democratic bills to expand traditional Medicare to include dental, vision, and hearing coverage?
Today’s speech re-emphasizes that the President has bought into the profits-first-patients-second ideology of his key health care advisers, including budget director and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Medicare administrator Seema Verma, who have never met a government program they don’t want to privatize.
In September, the federal government will mail a handbook on Medicare enrollment to 43 million households. “Medicare & You” is an important, authoritative source on a wide array of plan options for the annual enrollment period that runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, and it has been mailed out to beneficiaries each year since 1999.
But this year, advocate groups for seniors are crying foul over language contained in a draft of the 2019 handbook edition sent to them for review by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The Medicare Rights Center and two other groups (Justice in Aging and the Center for Medicare Advocacy) argue that the draft contains inaccurate, ideologically tinted descriptions of the tradeoffs between original fee-for-service insurance and a privatized managed-care alternative.
That is no small criticism - and it comes from authoritative organizations with deep expertise on Medicare policy, coverage and the laws governing the program. The choice between fee-for-service coverage and Medicare Advantage is the first that seniors make about their coverage - and one of the most important.
via Reuters.
We are keeping an eye on this issue. Stay tuned for updates.
Stay on top of issues like this by signing up for our free newsletter, Your Morning Read, by clicking here.
via twitter.
Related Reading:
Trump Spreads Medicare Falsehoods in Florida.
When it comes to healthcare – and especially seniors’ health care – Trump chooses to dwell in an Orwellian ‘opposite world’ where Republican attempts to cut and privatize Medicare are actually meant to “protect” the program. Apparently, President Trump and his GOP allies believe they must destroy Medicare in order to save it.
Did you miss Behind the Headlines this week?
We discussed:
- President Trump’s budget and it’s impact on seniors, Social Security Disability Insurance, and Medicaid.
- Medicare Advantage and it’s troubles in Florida.
- Mick Mulvaney and his attacks on SSDI.
You can watch it here.
Medicare Cuts
Despite candidate Trump’s promising older people “not to touch” their earned benefits, the president proposes to slash Medicare by $846 billion over ten years, which would accelerate the insolvency of the Medicare trust fund. So far, Congress has rejected these cuts, but if the President wins re-election, all bets are off.
“Republicans want Trump to deal with the exploding deficit by gutting the social safety net, and the president is reportedly receptive to the idea… President Trump has told friends that gutting Medicare could be a fun ‘second-term project.’” – Vanity Fair, 8/22/19
And that’s only the beginning.
Medicare Advantage Bias
Bloomberg reports that the President will use his Florida appearance to promote private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. This would be consistent with the administration’s unabashed advocacy for Medicare Advantage over traditional Medicare.
“From day one, President Trump and his administration have worked to provide seniors with high-quality, affordable care in the Medicare program and improved options through Medicare Advantage.” – White House spokesperson Judd Deere
Read more from this blog post by clicking here.
Senator Romney’s legislation has no provisions to ensure that future #seniors’ earned benefits are adequate for the expenses they will face. #TRUSTact @RepJohnLarson https://www.ncpssm.org/entitledtoknow/romneys-trust-act-is-back-again/