Romney Campaign Press Release - Barack In Time: When Obama Opposed "Drastic Cuts In Medicare"

"Four years ago, Barack Obama campaigned against 'drastic cuts in Medicare.' But President Obama was all too willing to cut $716 billion from Medicare to pay for Obamacare, and today's seniors are the ones who will pay the price. The Romney-Ryan Plan will restore this crucial funding for seniors, while strengthening Medicare for future retirees." – Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

Four Years Ago, Candidate Obama Derided Cutting Medicare To "Pay For An Ill-Conceived Health Care Plan":

Candidate Obama, In 2008: "Drastic Cuts In Medicare –$882 Billion Worth. $882 Billion In Medicare Cuts To Pay For An Ill-Conceived Health Care Plan, Even As Medicare Already Faces A Looming Shortfall." OBAMA: "But the Wall Street Journal recently reported that it's actually worse than we thought. It turns out, Senator McCain would pay for part of his plan by making drastic cuts in Medicare –$882 billion worth. $882 billion in Medicare cuts to pay for an ill-conceived health care plan, even as Medicare already faces a looming shortfall." (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks, Roanoke, VA, 10/17/08)

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President Obama's 2008 Campaign Launched Television Ads Using "Virtually Identical" Medicare Attacks, Declaring "It's Not The Change We Need." "Two years prior, then-Senator Obama used virtually identical language to beat up on his general election opponent, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.): 'How would your golden years turn out under John McCain? His health care plan would cut Medicare by $800 billion -- that means a 22 percent cut in benefits. Higher premiums and co-pays ... after a lifetime of work, senior's health care shouldn't be a gamble. John McCain's plan, it's not the change we need.'" (Sam Stein, "Obama Medicare Attack In 2008 Targeted McCain For Cutting $800 Billion From Program," The Huffington Post, 8/14/12)

But What Did President Obama Do After He Took Office? He Cut $716 Billion From Medicare To Pay For His Ill-Conceived Health Care Plan:

According To The Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Obamacare Cuts $716 Billion From Medicare. (Congressional Budget Office, Letter To Speaker John Boehner, 7/24/12)

• Miami Herald: "Obama's $700 Billion Medicare-Cut Problem" (Marc Caputo, "Obama's $700 Billion Medicare-Cut Problem," Miami Herald, 8/12/12)

President Obama's Senior Campaign Aide Has Bragged That President Obama "Achieved" $700 Billion In "Cuts In Medicare." CUTTER: "Well, you know ask the wealthy to pay a little bit more. Cut waste from the government. Reform Medicare. More than $300 billion in savings from Medicare. On top of the savings we've already achieved. You know I heard Mitt Romney deride the $700 billion cuts in Medicare that the president achieved through health care reform." (CBS's "Face The Nation," 8/12/12)

And Seniors Are The Ones Who Will Pay The Price With Higher Costs And Fewer Benefits, While Medicare Continues To Head Toward Bankruptcy:

"Medicare Actuaries And Trustees Say Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund Will Be Exhausted In 2024 Under Current Law." (Robert Pear, "Romney Medicare Plan Draws A Stark Contrast," The New York Times, 5/15/12)

Obamacare's Cuts Will Cause Enrollment In Medicare Advantage To "Plummet By About 50 Percent" And Leave Seniors With "Higher Out-Of-Pocket Costs." "In addition to flagging provider cuts as potentially unsustainable, the report [HHS] projected that reductions in payments to private Medicare Advantage plans would trigger an exodus from the popular alternative. Enrollment would plummet by about 50 percent. Seniors leaving the private plans would still have health insurance under traditional Medicare, but many might face higher out-of-pocket costs." (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, "Report Says Health Care Will Cover More, Cost More," The Associated Press, 4/23/10)

The Medicare Actuary Has Estimated 15% Of "Hospitals, Skilled Nursing Facilities, And Home Health Agencies" Will Be In The Red Before The Decade Is Over. "In the Office of the Actuary's April 22, 2010 memorandum on the estimated financial effects of the Affordable Care Act, we noted that by 2019 the update reductions would result in negative total facility margins for about 15 percent of hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health agencies. This estimated percentage would continue to increase, reaching roughly 25 percent in 2030 and 40 percent by 2050. In practice, providers could not sustain continuing negative margins and, absent legislative changes, would have to withdraw from providing services to Medicare beneficiaries, merge with other provider groups, or shift substantial portions of Medicare costs to their non-Medicare, non-Medicaid payers." ("Projected Expenditures Under An Illustrative Scenario With Alternative Payment Updates To Medicare Providers," Center For Medicare & Medicaid Services, 5/13/11)

• Columbus Dispatch: "15 Percent Of Hospitals And Other Care Facilities That Rely On Medicare Reimbursements Would Become Unprofitable, Meaning That They Might Drop Medicare Patients." (Editorial, "Malpractice," Columbus Dispatch, 4/28/12)

52 Percent Of Doctors Say Obamacare Will Compel Them To Close Or Significantly Restrict Their Practices To Medicare Patients. (Merritt Hawkins, "Health Reform and the Decline of Physician Private Practice," The Physicians Foundation, 10/10)

Factcheck.Org, On Medicare Under President Obama: "The Promise That 'Benefits Will Remain The Same' Is Just As Fictional As The Town Of Mayberry..." "Currently, about 1 in every 4 Medicare beneficiary is enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. For many of them, the words in this ad ring hollow, and the promise that 'benefits will remain the same' is just as fictional as the town of Mayberry was when Griffith played the local sheriff." (Brooks Jackson, "Mayberry Misleads On Medicare," FactCheck.org, 7/31/10)