CBO: Medicare cuts mean benefit cuts

(By Ed Morrissey, Hot Air) - What happens when a mythbuster gets exposed as a mythmaker? Barack Obama has insisted that people who claim that $500 billion in “savings” from Medicare won’t mean any reduction in benefits. Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, says that simply isn’t true. The cuts to Medicare Advantage, which comprise one-fifth of those savings, means reduced benefits for the 25% of seniors using the program:

Congress’ chief budget officer on Tuesday contradicted President Barack Obama’s oft-stated claim that seniors wouldn’t see their Medicare benefits cut under a health care overhaul.

The head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf, told senators that seniors in Medicare’s managed care plans could see reduced benefits under a bill in the Finance Committee.

The bill would cut payments to the Medicare Advantage plans by more than $100 billion over 10 years.

Elmendorf said the changes “would reduce the extra benefits that would be made available to beneficiaries through Medicare Advantage plans.”