The problem with power is governing

By Fester:

I'm building off of what BJ wrote this afternoon concerning McCain's plan to cut Medicaid/Medicare:

You almost have to wonder if McCain is just giving up at this point.  As Josh Marshal notes, this announcement isn't going to help McCain make up lost ground in Florida.

John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Sen. McCain's senior policy adviser, said Sunday that the campaign has always planned to fund the tax credits, in part, with savings from Medicare and Medicaid. Those government health-care programs serve seniors, poor families and the disabled. Medicare spending for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 is estimated at $457.5 billion.

This is the campaign equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot.

It is a double barrel shotgun to the foot.  Just on the back of my envelope right now, Republicans currently control the White House, and controlled the House for 12 of the past 14 years, and the Senate for 11 of the past 14 years.  They've been in power and responsible for a while. 

The cuts being proposed are roughly $130 billion dollars per year, probably smaller in the first years, and magically large in the out years.  At the New Republic, the savings are supposed to come from 'waste, fraud, abuse' and cash flow/billing changes.  No services would be reduced according to the McCain campaign. 

So the McCain campaign is basically saying that currently Medicare is wasting 20% of its annual budget on waste/fraud or dumb business practices. 

This is an own goal for the GOP -- the program is inefficient because we're inefficient and don't give a flying spaghetti monster damn about doing anything different. 

Comments

[anderson]

Medicare/Medicaid fraud is now estimated at $60 billion/year. While certainly a considerable amount, it is disingenuous to suggest that tightening up that unseemly feature of Medicare is going to save the day, though it should be done, nonetheless.

Of course, the $600 billion Medicare prescription drug program didn't help the situation and the simple step of allowing Medicare to negotiate bulking pricing deals could save billions as well. But you've got to see McCain's full record on the Medicare/Medicaid issue. He has been in near continuous assault mode for decades.