March 24, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging rejection of a new bipartisan deal to eliminate the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate:
“It is disappointing that the so-called bipartisan Medicare deal eliminates one of the few cost-containment measures in the program without adequately replacing it with anything that deals with the immediate exploding costs of the program. Instead, the measure will rely on small but politically toxic out-year cuts to the benefits of those who actually saved for their retirements. These cuts could be political poison for a future Congress.
“The doc fix conversation that was forced by the sustainable growth rate was a good thing. It created a regular legislative discussion around the expanding costs of Medicare and the threat posed to our nation’s financial security. Now, under this deal that honest discussion has been traded for a fix that fails to save the program, creates massive amounts of new debt, and locks in some of Obama’s expanded social welfare spending as part of the deal.
“Unfortunately, as the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget reports, this deal could add as much as $400 billion to the debt over the next 20 years, and do little to nothing to slow down the exhaustion of the trust fund over the next 15 years. In the mean time, there still is no opt-out for younger Americans who will now be expected to pay into a program that may not be adequate when they retire.
“If this Congress was serious about saving the Medicare program, they would institute their reforms right now, which will be no less jarring in 2018 when they finally take effect. This kick-the-can approach guarantees that taxpayers will assume the increased costs of the program, and postpones the pain for a future Congress to deal with.”
To view online: http://getliberty.org/medicare-deal-expands-govt-postpones-real-fixes/
Attachments:
“Meet the Med-fix, the new doc-fix,” By Robert Romano, March 18, 2015 at http://netrightdaily.com/2015/03/meet-the-med-fix-the-new-doc-fix/
“Unpaid for doc fix could add $2.3 trillion to Medicare unfunded liabilities,” By Robert Romano, March 19, 2015 at http://netrightdaily.com/2015/03/unpaid-for-doc-fix-could-add-2-3-trillion-to-medicare-unfunded-liabilities/
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick manning.
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