Medicare claim is bogus

I would like to respond to William Hall’s Aug. 26 letter. Hall contends that Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers will restore the $700 billion President Barack Obama “stole” from Medicare. A visit to the Politifact.com and Factcheck.org websites proves Hall’s claims to be invalid.

The president didn’t steal one dollar from the Medicare budget. The $716 billion cut from Medicare came as a result of reduced outlays to Medicare Advantage, taking rebates away from prescription drug companies and reduced outlays to hospitals if they have too many readmissions or fail to meet new health care benchmarks. That accounts for over 60 percent of the cuts. Not one penny was cut from benefits.

As for McMorris Rodgers putting the money back? That also is an invalid claim. McMorris Rodgers supports the Ryan budget proposal, which, in fact, maintains those cuts. So if Hall contends that Obama stole from Medicare, what does that make McMorris Rodgers?

McMorris Rodgers receives a favorable rating with many veterans organizations. But we would be remiss if we didn’t also mention the fine work done by Sen. Patty Murray in her tenure as the chair for the U.S. Senate Committee of Veterans Affairs.

Dustin Stum

Spokane Valley