Reply #190: "Obama's deficit-reduction plan would squeeze future Medicare recipients"

[bread_and_roses]

Well, now, the devil is always in the details:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obamas-health-care-cuts-spread-pain-14561351

Obama did promise Medicare beneficiaries that he'd veto any legislation asking them to sacrifice without also raising taxes on upper-income earners. But he didn't issue them a complete pass.

Instead, his administration is borrowing from corporate America's playbook by proposing to raise a range of costs for future retirees, while mostly shielding Medicare's 48 million current beneficiaries. Under the president's plan, starting in 2017 ...

... All told, Obama's plan would cut Medicare by $248 billion over 10 years and squeeze another $72 billion from Medicaid. Some of Medicaid savings involve shifting costs to the states by rejiggering the federal payment formula and limiting a strategy currently used by states to draw more federal dollars.

Two leading organizations that supported Obama's health care overhaul law are expressing concerns about his latest plan. AARP says it could result in arbitrary cuts to Medicare. Families USA, a liberal advocacy group, says the Medicaid cuts could undermine coverage for the uninsured.