Axios reports that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has launched attack ads against Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Rick Scott of Florida for planning to take away Medicare. Cruz and Scott are the two Republican Senators whose seats are at risk in the 2024 election. And, when it comes to Medicare and Social Security, they can’t be trusted.
Both Scott and Cruz have called for the end of Medicare in one form or another, as have most Republicans. For a long while, one of their goals has been to privatize Medicare and allocate a fixed amount of money to each person with Medicare that they can spend on their health care, “premium support”. Premium support policies would mean higher costs for older adults and less comprehensive Medicare coverage. People with Medicare who developed costly or complex conditions would likely either have to forgo care or pay for it themselves.
The Democrats’ digital ads are designed to appeal to older Americans and call out Senators Cruz and Scott for being a “threat to Medicare.” The ads also attack Republicans more broadly for their positions on Medicare.
Senator Scott has called for federal legislation that would have Medicare and Social Security go away after five years. In his words, “All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress could pass it again.” Given how difficult it is to pass any legislation in Congress, Scott’s policy proposal is a sure recipe to end Medicare and Social Security.
It’s worth noting that Medicare Advantage plans already put Medicare on a dangerous trajectory, both from a sustainability perspective and from a coverage perspective. The HHS Office of the Inspector General has now twice reported that Medicare Advantage plans often inappropriately delay and deny care that Traditional Medicare would have covered. And countless agencies and organizations have found overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans are today more than $70 billion a year and growing, endangering the Medicare Trust Fund.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- OIG finds widespread inappropriate care denials in Medicare Advantage
- Republicans could hurt their prospects for controlling the Senate if they support cuts to Medicare and Social Security
- In the hands of Republicans, Social Security is at serious risk
- Government overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans grow, while concerns remain about quality of care
- New study finds you can’t meaningfully choose among Medicare Advantage plans
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