Republicans this week will resurrect a 2012 campaign attack on what they characterize as the Affordable Care Act’s deep cuts to Medicare.
CNN reported that the National Republican Senatorial Committee will begin targetting 12 Democrats over their support for Obamacare, which the GOP says includes $717 billion in cuts to the popular federal health insurance program for seniors.
Citing a report from the Congressional Budget Office, the NRSC will issue a news release on Wednesday denouncing Democrats for “deceiving seniors.”
If the attack sounds familiar, it’s because it was used heavily by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in last year’s presidential campaign. The Affordable Care Act’s Medicare cuts actually represent a reduction in reimbursements to hospitals, Medicaid prescription drugs and private insurance plans under Medicare Advantage. The CBO has projected that the reimbursement reduction will extend Medicare’s solvency for eight years.
Ironically, Ryan’s budget that passed the GOP-controlled House in 2011 and 2012 included the same Medicare savings but also repealed the health care law.
That didn’t stop him from criticizing the White House for those cuts during his debate last year with Vice President Joe Biden.
