As both the Washington Post and the New York Times reported on the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office’s findings – the Democrats’ government-run healthcare bill that Berkley voted into law last year slashed $500 billion from seniors who depend on Medicare.

·         WASHINGTON POST:  The Health Care Bill Cut Medicare By Roughly “$500 Billion Over The Next Decade.” “To cover the cost of those changes, the compromise would impose a 3.8 percent Medicare tax on investment income for wealthy taxpayers, a levy that would come in addition to a Senate-proposed increase in the regular payroll tax for those families. And it would slice an additional $60 billion from Medicare, with the privately run program known as Medicare Advantage targeted for particularly deep cuts, bringing the total reduction in projected spending on the program to more than $500 billion over the next decade.” (Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane, “House Leaders Announce $940 Billion Health-Care Compromise Bill,” The Washington Post, 3/19/10)

·         NEW YORK TIMES:  A Report By The Chief Medicare Actuary Said That Medicare Advantage Programs Will Be Cut By Roughly 50 Percent In The Health Care Bill. “The study, by the chief Medicare actuary, Richard S. Foster, provides a detailed, rigorous analysis of the law. . . . In his report, Mr. Foster made these points: . . . Cuts in federal payments to private Medicare Advantage plans will ‘result in less generous benefit packages,’ the report said. By 2017, it said, ‘enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans will be lower by about 50 percent, from its projected level of 14.8 million under the prior law to 7.4 million under the new law.’” (Robert Pear, “Health Care Cost Increase Is Projected For New Law,” The New York Times, 4/23/10)

If that wasn’t enough, both Senate Democrat Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and a former economic advisor for Obama have reiterated that in order to fund government-run healthcare, Democrats – including Harry Reid and Shelley Berkley – reduced the federal funds available for Medicare.

·         SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): “Some Of Our Critics On The Other Side Of The Aisle Have Said, ‘You Know, They’re [Democrats] Going To Cut Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars Out Of Medicare.’ And The Simple Answer Is, Yes.” (Sen. Durbin, Floor Remarks, 3/4/10)

CLICK HERE TO WATCH DICK DURBIN

·         JARED BERNSTEIN – FORMER TOP OBAMA OFFICIAL:  “My point is that in term of Medicare spending, [the health care] bill … cuts half a trillion dollars off of Medicare spending ten years that in the books, you can look up the CBO numbers. (Jared Bernstein, Squawk Box, CNBC, 06/08/11)

CLICK HERE TO WATCH JARED BERNSTEIN

“Big Labor is trying to smear Dean Heller’s record, because they want Nevadans to forget that when Shelley Berkley followed Nancy Pelosi’s order and voted for ObamaCare, she also voted to cut Medicare by over $500 billion,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox.  “The fact remains that Shelley Berkley is the only candidate for Senate in Nevada who voted to cut Medicare by half-a-trillion dollars.”

BACKGROUND

THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE BREAKS DOWN THOSE MEDICARE CUTS FROM OBAMACARE

·         $150 BILLION IN CUTS TO HOSPITALS, NURSING HOMES, AND HOSPICE

o   “Ensuring Medicare Sustainability… -156.6 [Billion Dollars].” “TITLE III—Improving The Quality And Efficiency Of Health Care; Subtitle E—Ensuring Medicare Sustainability; 3401 Revision Of Certain Market Basket Updates And Incorporation Of Services Productivity Improvements Into Market Basket Updates That Do Not Already Incorporate Such Improvements (Effect Of Productivity Adjustment For Home Health Included In Estimate For Section 3131)… 2010-2019… -156.6 [Billion Dollars].” (CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, Letter To Rep. Nancy Pelosi, 3/18/10, P.14)

·         $200 BILLION IN CUTS TO MEDICARE ADVANTAGE

o   “Medicare Advantage Payments… -131.9 [Billion Dollars].” “TITLE III—Improving The Quality And Efficiency Of Health Care; Subtitle C—Provisions Relating to Part C; Medicare Advantage Payments… 2010-2019… -131.9 [Billion Dollars].” (CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, Letter To Rep. Pelosi, 3/18/10, P. 13)

o   “Medicare Advantage Interactions… -70.4 [Billion Dollars].” “Interactions; Medicare Advantage Interactions… 2010-2019… -70.4 [Billion Dollars].” (CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, Letter To Rep. Pelosi, 3/18/10, P. 18)

·         $40 BILLION IN CUTS TO HOME HEALTH CARE

o   “Home Health Care… -39.7 [Billion Dollars].” “TITLE III—Improving The Quality And Efficiency Of Health Care; Subtitle B—Improving Medicare For Patients And Providers; Part III – Improving Payment Accuracy; 3131 Payment Adjustments For Home Health Care (Includes Effect Of Section 3401)… 2010-2019… -39.7 [Billion Dollars].” (CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, Letter To Rep. Nancy Pelosi, 3/18/10, P.13)

·         $20 BILLION IN REDUCED “PAYMENTS TO HOSPITALS THAT SERVE A LARGE NUMBER OF LOW-INCOME PATIENTS”

o   “Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) Payments… -22.1 [Billion Dollars].” “TITLE III—Improving The Quality And Efficiency Of Health Care; Subtitle B—Improving Medicare For Patients And Providers; Part III—Improving Payment Accuracy; 3133 Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) Payments… 2010-2019… -22.1 [Billion Dollars].” (CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, Letter To Rep. Nancy Pelosi, 3/18/10, P.13)

o   “Reducing Medicaid and Medicare payments to hospitals that serve a large number of low-income patients, known as disproportionate share (DSH) hospitals…” (CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, Letter To Sen. Harry Reid, 11/18/09, P. 10)