Research Briefing

Obama’s Health Care Experiment Will Increase Middle Class Taxes And Cut Seniors’ Benefits

PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA IN DECEMBER: “My Administration Will Value Science … We Will Make Decisions Based On Facts …’” (Jim Tankersley and Tom Hamburger, “Obama: We’ll ‘Value Science,’” The Chicago Tribune, 12/16/08)

OBAMA IGNORES FACT THAT HIS PLAN INCREASES MIDDLE CLASS TAXES

Obama Claims Individual Mandate To Buy Insurance Is Not Tax Increase. STEPHANOPOULOS: “Under this mandate, the government is forcing people to spend money, fining you if you don’t. How is that not a tax?” ... OBAMA: “No. That’s not true, George ... For us to say that you’ve got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase.” (ABC News’ “This Week,” 9/20/09)

But Joint Committee On Taxation Says Individual Mandate Is Tax That Will Hit Middle-Class Americans. JCT’S THOMAS BARTHOLD: “Senator Grassley, the penalty proposed in the Chairman’s mark, is as you observed, it’s structured as a penalty excise tax, we have other penalty excise taxes in the internal revenue code … We have not done a combined distribution analyses across income to specifically answer your question but to the extent that yes we think that some people would be subject to the penalty excise tax when everything shakes out we would expect that some would have incomes less than $200,000 dollars.” (George Stephanopoulos, “Mandate Or Tax? Grassley V. Baucus,” ABC News’s “George’s Bottom Line” Blog, 9/22/09)

NO WONDER BAUCUS BULLYING CBO TO RUSH THEIR ANALYSIS

While CBO Says They Need Time To Produce Quality Analysis, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) Says That’s “Unacceptable.” “CBO Director Doug Elmendorf defended the pace of his office’s work on the Senate Finance Committee’s health reform bill as committee Chair Max Baucus pressed for quick turnaround on a score of the modified proposal he introduced earlier today … Elmendorf replied that CBO’s long-term relevance depends on the quality, not just the speed, of its analysis and said the budget office is moving as fast as it responsibly can on an ever-changing set of policies … Elmendorf said CBO could turn around a ‘preliminary analysis’ within a few days of a package coming together, but a final score could take up to two weeks. ‘That’s unacceptable, clearly, we can’t operate that way,’ Baucus replied.” (Sam Baker, “CBO To Baucus: We’re Going As Fast As We Can,” InsideHealthPolicy.com’s “Health Policy Blog,” 9/22/09)

OBAMA IGNORES FACT THAT HIS PLAN WILL CUT SENIORS’ MEDICARE BENEFITS

Obama Insists His Cuts To Medicare Advantage Won’t Affect Seniors’ Benefits. STEPHANOPOULOS: “A Democrat [Sen. Bill Nelson] says the cuts that you’re looking at the Medicare Advantage program, will force people to lose coverage they now have ... He says it’s going to cause beneficiaries to lose what they have right now.” OBAMA: “I understand that change is hard. People currently signed up for Medicare Advantage are going to have Medicare and the same level of benefits but they may not be having their insurer get a 14% premium, that’s absolutely true.” (ABC’s “This Week,” 9/20/09)

But Director Of Non-Partisan CBO Says Seniors On Medicare Advantage Would See Benefits Cut In Half. SEN. MIKE CRAPO (R-ID): “So approximately half of the additional benefit would be lost to those current Medicare Advantage policy holders.” ELMENDORF: “Those who would be enrolled otherwise under current law, yes…” SEN. CRAPO: “So the current plan holders would recognize about half the benefits that they see under today under the current law.” ELMENDORF: “Yes, that’s right.” (Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) And CBO Director Douglas W. Elmendorf, Senate Finance Committee Markup Hearing, 9/22/09)

 NO WONDER OBAMA DEMOCRATS IMPOSING GAG ORDER ON BENEFIT PROVIDERS

After Request From Baucus, Obama Administration Imposes Gag Order On Insurance Companies, Forcing Them To Stop Informing Customers About How Medicare Cuts Will Affect Them. “At Baucus’s request, Medicare officials are investigating letters in which Humana told customers that senior citizens may lose benefits under a health-care overhaul. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in a Sept. 18 letter to Humana, ordered the health insurer to stop the mailings and remove the materials from its Web site. ‘This information is misleading and confusing to beneficiaries,’ said the letter from Teresa DeCaro, who handles contract administration for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. ‘Please be advised that we take this matter very seriously and, based upon the findings of our investigation, will pursue compliance and enforcement actions.’” (Ryan Donmoyer, “Baucus Says Humana Uses ‘Scare Tactics’ To Fight Bill,” Bloomberg, 9/21/09)