Heitkamp Campaigns Today With Fellow ObamaCare Supporter Senator Mark Begich 

Across The United States ObamaCare Took $716 Billion From Seniors On Medicare

It was a little more than two years ago, when Democrat Heidi Heitkamp told North Dakotans that the $1.76 trillion healthcare bill was a “legacy vote” that would lower the cost of health care, but what Heitkamp did not tell voters is that ObamaCare will cut $1 billion from North Dakota seniors on Medicare including $107 million in Burleigh County where she is campaigning today with Alaska Senator Mark Begich.

According to the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Business, these cuts will take approximately $1 billion from seniors in North Dakota who depend on Medicare.

• Over The Next 10 Years, ObamaCare Will Cut $1 Billion From Medicare Plans That North Dakota Seniors Rely On For Their Health Care Needs. (Robert A. Book and Michael Ramlet, “What Is The Regional Impact Of The Medicare Fee-For-Service And Medicare Advantage Payment Reductions,” University Of Minnesota’s Carlson School Of Management, 9/12)

“Hopefully Heidi Heitkamp and Senator Begich will explain why they continue to support a $107 million cut to Burleigh County seniors on Medicare,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Lance Trover.  “This non-partisan report is a sobering reminder that Heidi Heitkamp’s liberal agenda is wrong not just for the people of Burleigh County but the entire state of North Dakota.” 

For a breakdown of how Heitkamp’s ObamaCare will affect North Dakota click here. 

BACKGROUND….

Heidi Heitkamp’s Support Of ObamaCare Means A $716 Billion Cut From Medicare To Pay For Obamacare –  A Cut The Obama Campaign Now Refers To As An Achievement: 

According To The Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Obamacare Cuts $716 Billion From Medicare. (Congressional Budget Office, Letter To Speaker John Boehner, 7/24/12)

·         Miami Herald: “Obama’s $700 Billion Medicare-Cut Problem” (Marc Caputo, “Obama’s $700 Billion Medicare-Cut Problem,” Miami Herald, 8/12/12)

President Obama’s Senior Campaign Aide Has Bragged That President Obama “Achieved” $700 Billion In “Cuts In Medicare.” CUTTER: “Well, you know ask the wealthy to pay a little bit more. Cut waste from the government. Reform Medicare. More than $300 billion in savings from Medicare. On top of the savings we’ve already achieved. You know I heard Mitt Romney deride the $700 billion cuts in Medicare that the president achieved through health care reform.” (CBS’s “Face The Nation,” 8/12/12)

Heitkamp’s Support of Medicare Cuts Will Jeopardize Benefits For Seniors – Reducing Access To Care And Driving Millions From Medicare Advantage:

The Medicare Actuary Has Estimated 15% Of “Hospitals, Skilled Nursing Facilities, And Home Health Agencies” Will Be In The Red Before The Decade Is Over. “In the Office of the Actuary‘s April 22, 2010 memorandum on the estimated financial effects of the Affordable Care Act, we noted that by 2019 the update reductions would result in negative total facility margins for about 15 percent of hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health agencies. This estimated percentage would continue to increase, reaching roughly 25 percent in 2030 and 40 percent by 2050. In practice, providers could not sustain continuing negative margins and, absent legislative changes, would have to withdraw from providing services to Medicare beneficiaries, merge with other provider groups, or shift substantial portions of Medicare costs to their non-Medicare, non-Medicaid payers.” (“Projected Expenditures Under An Illustrative Scenario With Alternative Payment Updates To Medicare Providers,” Center For Medicare & Medicaid Services, 5/13/11)

52 Percent Of Doctors Say Obamacare Will Compel Them To Close Or Significantly Restrict Their Practices To Medicare Patients. (Merritt Hawkins, “Health Reform and the Decline of Physician Private Practice,” The Physicians Foundation, October 2010)

Obamacare’s Cuts Will Cause Enrollment In Medicare Advantage To “Plummet By About 50 Percent” And Leave Seniors With “Higher Out-Of-Pocket Costs.” “In addition to flagging provider cuts as potentially unsustainable, the report [HHS] projected that reductions in payments to private Medicare Advantage plans would trigger an exodus from the popular alternative. Enrollment would plummet by about 50 percent. Seniors leaving the private plans would still have health insurance under traditional Medicare, but many might face higher out-of-pocket costs.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Report Says Health Care Will Cover More, Cost More,” The Associated Press, 4/23/10)

·         The Medicare Trustees Project These Cuts Will Drive 4 Million Seniors Out Of Medicare Advantage Plans By 2018. (Medicare Trustees Report, 4/23/12)