Mediscare? GOPs new lie

We all know the senior vote is extremely important, especially in key states like Florida. And we all know that there is one thing seniors left or right care about. Medicare.

One of the most popular of the new deal programs in existence. A long with Social Security, Medicare has always been in the forefront of issues with senior citizens. It's popular because it works. Since its inception medicare has always been a guaranteed benefit for those who have worked hard all of their lives and have been old enough to qualify.

With the inclusion of Paul Ryan on the Romney ticket the campaign has refocused onto "entitlement" spending, most notably Medicare.

What astounds me about this is that Romney and Ryan see this as their winning issue.

Huh!?

Yes, it's true. Romney and Ryan are now casting themselves as the saviors of Medicare, protecting it from the evil Obama and his socialist "Obamacare". Never mind the fact that Medicare IS socialism, but I digress. The thing about the Romney/Ryan plan for Medicare is nothing short of completely changing it, not for seniors of course but for people like me who are not yet seniors.

To back up their role as the saviors of Medicare they have sent out surrogates, like Tim Pawlenty and John Sununu (that is a fun name to say) to spread the new talking point that Obama stole $716 Billion from Medicare to fund Obamacare.

Without even touching on the racial angle of this obvious lie, I want to explain first why it is such a boldface lie.

Sununu says that it takes from seniors and cuts their benefits. Yeah, not really. Instead this $716 Billion is from projected cuts in the amount of over-payments to hospitals insurance companies that would have been made. The ACA actually limits over-payments and instead makes insurance companies and hospitals take less in Medicare reimbursement. They agreed to this because of the influx of new patients from the Mandate. But those pesky details never get in the way of a good lie.

So let me say this again, no reduction in benefits, decreased spending from no longer overpaying insurance companies and hospitals for your care, and other small cuts to eliminate waste.

On the other hand you have the Ryan Plan that turns Medicare into a voucher system (for those under 55) which will shift the burden of costs onto future seniors, like me.

I sincerely hope the current crop of seniors consider their grand kids on Nov, 6th, and send Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan a little message