Issues: Medicaid

60 Plus Association: “Senator Nelson, Promises”

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Unmoved by independent fact checkers’ incredulity over the blatant falsehoods in their previous ads, 60 Plus Association has once again deployed 60s singer Pat Boone in an ad that relies the same misinformation about the Affordable Care Act’s effect on Medicare. The ad focuses on the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a panel created by the health care law to find savings in Medicare, which 60 Plus describes as “a Medicare IRS with the power to cut Medicare.” In reality, IPAB’s members must be confirmed by the Senate, and it is explicitly forbidden from cutting benefits or ‘rationing’ care.

Read more after the jump.

Crossroads GPS: “Holes”

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Crossroads GPS attempts to take Virginia Senate candidate Tim Kaine to task for both ‘soaring spending’ and ‘devastating’ cuts to spending on higher education during Kaine’s tenure as the state’s governor. But the budgetary reality of Kaine’s tenure was largely determined by the foibles of the global economy, which saw Kaine into office during a period of strength before enduring a massive recession that devastated state revenues and forced the governor and the legislature to make tough decisions about cuts. Ultimately, Kaine balanced every budget during his tenure.

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Rep. Paul Ryan’s Severely Conservative Budget Benefits The Rich At The Expense Of The Vulnerable

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Those familiar with House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) last budget proposal won’t be shocked at this year’s updated “Path to Prosperity,” a fiscal plan for 2013 and beyond that pledges policy prescriptions for “safeguarding America from the perils of debt, doubt and decline.” Like the old version of the “Path,” Ryan’s second attempt at engineering fiscal policy – including recommendations for overhauling the tax code, cutting spending, and reforming Medicare and Medicaid – takes an axe to federal spending that benefits those without political or economic power but showers tax breaks on the wealthy. With its absence of reasonable solutions for lowering debt and its far-fetched proposals to shift the country’s fiscal burdens onto the poor and middle class, the latest Ryan plan is at heart the same as the old one: A blueprint not for stabilizing the country’s fiscal situation but for forcing an ultra-conservative vision on the federal government.

Ryan Plan’s Cuts Are Enormous, Unrealistic, And Wouldn’t Balance The Budget Until 2040

The New Ryan Plan Proposes Even Larger Deficit Cuts Than Last Year’s GOP Budget. From the Associated Press: “This year’s GOP measure would produce deficit estimates that are significantly lower than a comparable measure passed by the House a year ago, claiming deficit cuts totaling $3.3 trillion – spending cuts of $5.3 trillion tempered by $2 trillion in lower taxes – below Obama over the coming decade. The deficit in 2015, for example, would drop to about $300 billion from $1.2 trillion for the current budget year. Last year’s GOP draft called for a 2015 deficit more than $100 billion higher.” [Associated Press via HuffingtonPost.com, 3/20/12]

The New Ryan Budget Cuts Spending By $100 Billion From This Year To Next. From the Associated Press: “The measure would cut spending from $3.6 trillion this year to the $3.5 trillion range in 2013 and freeze it at that level for two more years.” [Associated Press via HuffingtonPost.com, 3/20/12]

The New Ryan Budget Cuts Spending By $5 Trillion Over The Next Ten Years. From Bloomberg: “House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan today proposed reducing spending by $5 trillion over the next decade from the U.S. budget with Medicaid, food stamps, Pell college tuition grants and other programs facing reductions.” [Bloomberg, 3/20/12]

Read more after the jump.

U.S. Chamber Of Commerce: “Bill Nelson – Deciding”

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An ad from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce attacks Florida Sen. Bill Nelson as a “deciding vote for government-mandated health care,” although he was just one of 60 senators whose votes in favor of the health care reform law counted equally. The Chamber also throws out a series of distortions about the law, saying, for example, that it will cost taxpayers “over $1 trillion,” even though it reduces the deficit, and misusing information about how the law will expand coverage and achieve Medicare savings.

Read more after the jump.

Crossroads GPS: “Hiding”

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Crossroads GPS criticizes North Dakota Senate candidate Heidi Heitkamp for supporting the Affordable Care Act, even though, according to the ad, the “Supreme Court ruled Obamacare is a massive increase on working families.” Of course, while the Supreme Court ruled that the law’s requirement that people obtain health insurance or pay a small penalty is constitutional under Congress’ taxing power, the decision did not say anything about how the provision would affect working families. In reality, the Affordable Care Act does not directly raise taxes on most working Americans, and it will actually provide tax relief for millions. The ad also misleads on the law’s Medicare savings – which do not ‘cut’ seniors’ benefits – while failing to mention that Heitkamp’s opponent voted to preserve nearly all of those spending reductions.

Read more after the jump.

U.S. Chamber Of Commerce: “Shelley Berkley, In The Wrong Corner For Small Business In Nevada”

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An ad from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce targets Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) for supporting health care reform and clean energy legislation. The ad asserts that the Affordable Care Act “hurts small businesses,” citing as evidence a Gallup survey of small business owners that, in fact, contains no mention of the health care law. Of course, the Chamber’s misrepresentation of ACA is predictable considering that health insurers paid it more than $100 million to oppose reform. The ad’s demonization of a clean energy bill supported by Berkley is similarly problematic, relying on a biased analysis from the right-wing Heritage foundation to exaggerate the legislation’s potential impact on Nevada families.

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Crossroads GPS: “Voice”

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An ad from Crossroads GPS relies on regurgitated and misleading talking points about the Affordable Care Act to paint Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) as out of touch with his constituents. Contrary to the ad’s insinuations, Obamacare doesn’t cut Medicare benefits, the Independent Payment Advisory Board can’t restrict seniors’ care, and the taxes raised to support the Affordable Care Act pale in comparison to the middle-class tax cuts President Obama and congressional Democrats have enacted.

Read more after the jump.

American Commitment: “Cheering”

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A new ad from American Commitment targets North Dakota Senate candidate Heidi Heitkamp’s support for the Affordable Care Act, repeating several falsehoods about the health care law. Contrary to the ad’s overblown rhetoric, the Affordable Care Act provides tax credits for millions of Americans, ultimately providing “more tax relief than tax burden for middle-income Americans.” Furthermore, the law reduces the deficit and does not cut Medicare benefits; in fact, Heitkamp opponent Rick Berg voted to preserve the Medicare savings the ad attacks.

Read more after the jump.

American Future Fund: “Better Or Worse”

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A video from the American Future Fund rattles off a laundry list of deceptive claims about President Obama’s record, starting with the old falsehood that the president made the economy “worse.” But that’s nonsense: Obama inherited an economy that was shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs per month, and while we still haven’t fully recovered from the crushing Bush recession, the private sector has created more than 4 million jobs in the past 29 months of growth. Those gains are due in part to the Obama administration’s Recovery Act and rescue of the auto industry, both of which, along with the health care law, AFF completely misrepresents.

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American Commitment: “Fading Away”

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The conservative group American Commitment is running a dishonest new ad attacking Nevada Senate candidate Shelley Berkley. The ad criticizes Rep. Berkley for supporting the Affordable Care Act, which it claims is “one of the biggest tax increases in history,” and suggests that Berkley supports additional tax hikes. In reality, the health care law does not impose higher taxes on most Americans – it actually provides tax credits for millions – and Berkley has been a strong supporter of tax cuts for the middle class.

Read more after the jump.