President Obama: Healthcare law gave Medicare 'sounder financial footing'

[cal04]

Source: The Hill

President Obama used his weekly radio address Saturday to tout the findings of a Medicare Trustees report that concluded the program will remain solvent through 2029, largely as a result of cost-cutting provisions included in the recently enacted healthcare law.

The president said the report clearly demonstrated that the passage of healthcare reform has put Medicare on "a sounder financial footing."

"Reform has actually added at least a dozen years to the solvency of Medicare – the single longest extension in history – while helping to preserve Medicare for generations to come," Obama said.

"We’ve made Medicare more solvent by going after waste, fraud, and abuse – not by changing seniors’ guaranteed benefits," the president said. "In fact, seniors are starting to see that because of health reform, their benefits are getting better all the time."

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/113139-obama-healthcare-reform-put-medicare-on-sounder-financial-footing

---

Weekly Address: Medicare Officially Safer After Health Reform
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/07/weekly-address-medicare-officially-safer-after-health-reform

[burnsei sensei]

1. Go through the details

a fucking microscope.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. Sadly, the Chief Actuary of Medicare says this is fantasy

The chief actuary warns:

"While the Part B projections in this report are reasonable in their portrayal of future costs under current law, they are not reasonable as an indication of actual future costs. Current law would require physician fee reductions totaling an estimated 30 percent over the next 3 years—an implausible result."

http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x398919

[Igel]

8. Of course.

The projections have always been good when it's a political plus, bad when it's a political plus.

The projections have usually turned out wrong.

Those things that can't be measured directly are estimated by model. Those seldom change, and continue to be rosy. We downplay measurements, we trumpet model-based estimates.

Sometimes we take projections to be factual, as though we actually sent people to 2014 or 2024 to measure things, and say that "Now Social Security is saved," instead of the more factual, "Now we predict that Social Security will be saved."

So much for the teaching of critical thinking in public schools, college, and the MSM.

[Dirigo]

11. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid & the untreatable

Oh Really? Implossible? Doctors hate the insurance companies for riding herd on them, they hate patients stuck with little or no insurance coverage, and they hate the government for its wise and sage inclination to set up a public healthcare program, and worse to many doctors are Republicon and look to the GOP to fund their extravagant lifestyle, but just democratic enough to take in everyone in need of medical attention unless they're broke! Not all doctors, of course, but to many of them aren't terribly interested in giving something back to the community unless they're up over $500Gs in take home pay, they have their multiple homes and golf course memberships and the kids are in charter schools or private schools away from the great unwashed down on their luck neighbors.

[No Elephants]

14. I'm more concerned with hospitals, clinics, VNA's etc. than with individual doctors.

Hospital charges, even in not for profit hospitals, are jaw-dropping.

[OwnedByFerrets]

3. Yeah, Medicare for ALL would have been good too.

And kept the insurance companies from bilking billions of dollars. But that would have upset the lobbyist, so NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, we cant do that.

[madrchsod]

4. medicare would be on better 'footing' if....

people had access to universal healthcare like the rest of industrialized nations. but no ...we do`t fucking matter

[Gecko6400]

5. "You can fool some of the people, some of the time....."

Our President must think we are really dumb!

[greiner3]

6. Enjoy your stay.

[Gecko6400]

9. You may wish to check

some of the other posts in this thread. Like many others here, I'm just tired of being lied to.

[sendero]

10. Enjoy your delusion

.... eventually it will crumble.

[SpartanDem]

12. Gotta love the "if it's good news then it must a be lie" crowd

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[inna]

13. Oh shit, did he really say that?

"In fact, seniors are starting to see that because of health reform, their benefits are getting better all the time."

Wow. I'm not even surprised at this point, but this is just... wrong. Sad.