Shenanigans!

Cancel 2016.2

The Almighty
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/an_billion_trick_ImTBFfz7MeuZLJY7JzXEIJ

Oh yeah, you heard me, I called shenanigans!

Under federal “open-enrollment” guidelines, seniors must pick their Medicare coverage program for next year by the end of this year — which means they should be finding out before Election Day.

Nothing is more politically volatile than monkeying with the health insurance of seniors, who aren’t too keen on confusing upheavals in their health care and are the most diligent voters in the land. This could make the Tea Party look like a tea party.

Making matters even more politically dangerous for Obama is that open enrollment begins Oct. 15, less than three weeks before voters go to the polls.

It’s hard to imagine a bigger electoral disaster for a president than seniors in crucial states like Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio discovering that he’s taken away their beloved Medicare Advantage just weeks before an election.

This political ticking time bomb could become the biggest “October Surprise” in US political history.

But the administration’s devised a way to postpone the pain one more year, getting Obama past his last election; it plans to spend $8 billion to temporarily restore Medicare Advantage funds so that seniors in key markets don’t lose their trusted insurance program in the middle of Obama’s re-election bid.

The money is to come from funds that Health and Human Services is allowed to use for “demonstration projects.” But to make it legal, HHS has to pretend that it’s doing an “experiment” to study the effect of this money on the insurance market.

That is, to “study” what happens when the government doesn’t change anything but merely continues a program that’s been going on for years.

Obama can temporarily prop up Medicare Advantage long enough to get re-elected by exploiting an obscure bit of federal law. Under a 1967 statute, the HHS secretary can spend money without specific approval by Congress on “experiments” directly aimed at “increasing the efficiency and economy of health services.”

Past demonstration projects have studied new medical techniques or strategies aimed at improving care or reducing costs. The point is to find ways to lower the costs of Medicare by allowing medical technocrats to make efficient decisions without interference from vested interests.

Now Obama means to turn it on its head — diverting the money to a blatantly nonexperimental purpose to serve his political needs.

A Government Accounting Office report released this morning shows, quite starkly, that there simply is no experiment being conducted, just money being spent. Understandably, the GAO recommends that HHS cancel the project.

Congress should immediately launch an investigation into this unprecedented misuse of taxpayer money and violation of the public trust, which certainly presses the boundaries of legality and very well may breach them.

If he’s not stopped, Obama will spend $8 billion in taxpayer funds for a scheme to mask the debilitating effects on seniors of his signature piece of legislation just long enough to get himself re-elected.

Now that is some serious audacity.

If the above is true, everyone should write their Senators and Reps and get this bullshit stopped (again assuming it is accurate)
 
LMAO

Really Dung. Do tell us DUNG, which part of this is false? Oh let me GUESS, you DON'T KNOW, your masters at the DAILY KOS, haven't told you yet, am I right MORON?
 
And basically you have Republicans claiming that Obama cut $500 billion from Medicare by making cuts to Medicare Advantage and now getting their panties in a twist for an $8 billion incentive program for Medicare Advantage. It's your basic outrage over everything.
 
And basically you have Republicans claiming that Obama cut $500 billion from Medicare by making cuts to Medicare Advantage and now getting their panties in a twist for an $8 billion incentive program for Medicare Advantage. It's your basic outrage over everything.

LOL... as stated, you are quite the Dem apologist. Good little parrot.
 
If anyone wants to see a classic example of attacking your opponent based on your own weakness, it's SF. There isn't a single Republican fauxtrage cause he doesn't champion, yet he attacks me for being a "democrat apologist." LOLers.
 
Also, too, Medicare Advantage should be cut completely. It's a complete waste. Take a quick peek at pretty much any GAO report written on the subject. But if you cut Medicare Advantage you get accused of cutting Medicare (even though cutting Medicare Advantage is a good thing for traditional Medicare) and will likely lose an election. So you end up with this type of dumbassery. So stupid.
 
If anyone wants to see a classic example of attacking your opponent based on your own weakness, it's SF. There isn't a single Republican fauxtrage cause he doesn't champion, yet he attacks me for being a "democrat apologist." LOLers.

So an AP article is Republican faux outrage? Like I stated, you are a dem apologist. Obama is trying to pump money into a program that is being cut under your beloved Obama care. He is doing so in order to keep seniors from 'seeing what is actually in his plan'. But you run around and apologize and pretend it is just faux outrage. That is your standard M.O. You attack me, you attack the source. Just like a good little apologist.
 
Also, too, Medicare Advantage should be cut completely. It's a complete waste. Take a quick peek at pretty much any GAO report written on the subject. But if you cut Medicare Advantage you get accused of cutting Medicare (even though cutting Medicare Advantage is a good thing for traditional Medicare) and will likely lose an election. So you end up with this type of dumbassery. So stupid.

By all means, please advocate cutting Medicare Advantage as a campaign theme. Feel free to post any GAO report written on the subject that backs up your assertion though.
 
So an AP article is Republican faux outrage? Like I stated, you are a dem apologist. Obama is trying to pump money into a program that is being cut under your beloved Obama care. He is doing so in order to keep seniors from 'seeing what is actually in his plan'. But you run around and apologize and pretend it is just faux outrage. That is your standard M.O. You attack me, you attack the source. Just like a good little apologist.


No, the Republican bitching is fauxtrage. Basically, in 2010 they ran against Obama and the Democrats for cutting $500 billion in Medicare Advantage spending. Now in 2012, they're bitching because Obama restored $8 billion in Medicare Advantage funding through an incentive program. It's nonsense.
 
No, the Republican bitching is fauxtrage. Basically, in 2010 they ran against Obama and the Democrats for cutting $500 billion in Medicare Advantage spending. Now in 2012, they're bitching because Obama restored $8 billion in Medicare Advantage funding through an incentive program. It's nonsense.

Really? Please highlight an example of an ad that stated Democrats cut $500b in Medicare Advantage. We will wait.
 
By all means, please advocate cutting Medicare Advantage as a campaign theme. Feel free to post any GAO report written on the subject that backs up your assertion though.


Wait, weren't you the guy that championed cutting wasteful spending on entitlement programs and aren't you a self-proclaimed deficit hawk? You're exactly the type of person that prevents exactly the type of cuts that you call for from actually happening. Congrats.
 
Wait, weren't you the guy that championed cutting wasteful spending on entitlement programs and aren't you a self-proclaimed deficit hawk? You're exactly the type of person that prevents exactly the type of cuts that you call for from actually happening. Congrats.

LMAO... look, our good little apologist is once again trying to attack me as a diversion from the criticism of his master. Good little apologist.
 
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