Medicare Cuts

When is a cut not a cut? When a member of Congress says it is.

“This budget makes huge cuts to the Medicare that all seniors rely on,” state Democratic Party Chairman Kathy Sullivan said.

The President is “jeopardizing access to care” for seniors, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said Bush’s proposals for Medicare and education were “scandalous.”

Boy, that sure sounds bad. That budget is going to force Grandma to eat cat food so she can pay for her doctor.

What’s really scandalous is the deliberate misrepresentation of the President’s budget.

The President would increase Medicare spending by about 66 percent over the next five years. Under the proposed 2007 budget, Medicare would grow by 7.7 percent a year. Where’s the cut? There isn’t one.

Under current law, Medicare would grow by 8.1 percent a year. Bush is proposing to trim its rate of growth by four tenths of one percent a year over five years. Kathy Sullivan calls that a huge cut. Imagine if Bush proposed actually cutting Medicare. No wonder nothing gets done in Washington.

A cut in Washington-ese is a cut in the rate of growth. This demagoguery cannot be allowed to go unchallenged.