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Biggest 'October surprise' in U.S. political history set to go off if Obama is re-elected
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
April 23rd, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
April 23rd, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
If U.S. President Barack Obama is re-elected in this coming autumn,
millions of seniors stand to lose their benefits under the Medicare
Advantage program. This wouldn't sit well with senior voters, who
dutifully go to the polls without fail and are keenly aware of medical
benefits due to be cut. So - the Obama administration has an $8.3
billion plan - taken from taxpayer dollars to deliberately muddy the
issue.
The funds will arrive from funds that Health and Human Services is allowed to use for "demonstration projects." In order to make it pass, HHS has to pretend that it's doing an "experiment" to study the effect of this money on the insurance market.
In short, "study" is what happens when the government doesn't change anything but merely continues a program that's been going on for years.
Twelve million U.S. seniors have relied on Medicare Advantage, a more market-oriented alternative to traditional Medicare, without the aggravating gaps in coverage.
But as part of its hundreds of billions in Medicare cuts under so-called "ObamaCare," the Obama one-size-fits-all plan slashes reimbursement rates for Medicare Advantage starting next year, which will send many seniors back into the government-run program.
Under federal "open-enrollment" guidelines, seniors must pick their Medicare coverage program for next year by the end of this year - which means they should be finding out before Election Day.
Making matters even more disadvantageous for Obama is that open enrollment begins Oct. 15, less than three weeks before voters go to the polls.
For the time being, Obama can temporarily prop up Medicare Advantage long enough to get re-elected by exploiting an obscure bit of federal law. Under a 1967 statute, the HHS secretary can spend money without specific approval by Congress on "experiments" directly aimed at "increasing the efficiency and economy of health services."
The point is to find ways to lower the costs of Medicare by allowing medical technocrats to make efficient decisions without interference from vested interests.
"ObamaCare" won't kick in until after the 2012 election, when the president will no longer be answerable to voters.
Many feel that Congress should immediately launch an investigation into this unprecedented misuse of taxpayer money and violation of the public trust, which certainly presses the boundaries of legality and very well may breach them.
If he's not stopped, the president will spend $8 billion in taxpayer funds for a scheme to mask the debilitating effects on seniors of his signature piece of legislation just long enough to get himself re-elected.
© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.