Issues: Medicare

60 Plus Association: “We Still Do”

adcheck •

60 Plus attacks Virginia Senate candidate Tim Kaine for supporting the Affordable Care Act, making a series of untruthful assertions about the law’s impact on seniors. In fact, the ACA does not “give bureaucrats the power to deny” care. Moreover, the health care law’s reductions in future Medicare spending do not ‘cut’ benefits for seniors, and they actually prevent the program from “going bankrupt” sooner. Finally, while 60 plus insists that the ACA “makes things worse for seniors,” the group neglects to mention that it closes the prescription drug “donut hole” and provides free preventive care for millions of Medicare beneficiaries.

Read more after the jump.

60 Plus Association: “Wisconsin – Good Look”

adcheck •

An ad from the 60 Plus Association draws a comparison between Wisconsin, where the ad claims “tough choices” were made to “balance the budget,” and Washington, where Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D) supported the Recovery Act and health care reform. But Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) “balanced” budget relied on delayed payments and didn’t conform to the accounting standards he promised he would use, while the Affordable Care Act reduces the federal deficit and the Recovery Act helped avert an even more devastating recession.

Read more after the jump.

Americans For Prosperity: “Washington-Style Reform”

adcheck •

Americans for Prosperity hits Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) for supporting the Affordable Care Act, repeating multiple falsehoods in the process. The ad claims that the health care law ‘costs too much,’ but it actually reduces the deficit. AFP complains that the ACA “took over $700 billion from Medicare, which was already going bankrupt,” but without those savings Medicare would become insolvent sooner. Furthermore, the ad misleads on the ACA’s taxes and falsely claims that “bureaucrats” will “make health care decisions for you” under the law.

Read more after the jump.

The Week In Conservative Attack Ads

Earlier this week, Crossroads GPS made the unusual decision to pull its support from a competitive Senate race, dropping planned ads attacking Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill after tasteless comments on “legitimate rape” from her Republican opponent, Todd Akin, made headlines. The group’s multi-million-dollar assault on the airwaves continued across other states, however. Of the 13 ads we fact-checked this week, Crossroads GPS was responsible for five of them, attacking Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, Bill Nelson in Florida, Martin Heinrich in New Mexico, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and Jon Tester in Montana. We also looked at three ads from Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity, three from the American Future Fund, one from the National Federation of Independent Business, and one from pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future.Most of the spots mentioned the Affordable Care Act, with many misrepresenting the facts to sell support for the law as support for a budget-busting behemoth. All three American Future Fund ads referred to the “$2 trillion health care law,” a willful distortion that counts the law’s costs but none of the savings to obscure the fact that the law reduces the deficit. Five of the ads (three from Crossroads GPS, one from AFP, and one from Restore Our Future) spread misinformation about the “failed” or “wasteful” stimulus, which actually helped save the economy from an even deeper recession.

Focus On Florida

This week showed particularly heavy interest in the Florida Senate race between Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Connie Mack. Three separate conservative outside groups targeted the Sunshine State, each ad taking a different tack. Crossroads GPS took advantage of public confusion over the Affordable Care Act’s impact on Medicare, dishonestly suggesting to Florida’s seniors that their benefits will be cut and they’ll lose control of their health care decisions. American Future Fund focused on the national debt, though it also mentioned the health care law and threw in a gratuitous line calling for Nelson to “protect seniors.” NFIB, a business group that received $3.7 million from Crossroads GPS in 2010, took a more personal approach, highlighting a Florida business owner who claimed that a “conglomeration” of regulations were impairing his businesses’ ability to grow.

Read more after the jump.

Crossroads GPS: “Channel”

adcheck •

An ad from Crossroads GPS hits Sen. Sherrod Brown with a series of misleading insinuations, suggesting that Brown approved of a “health care takeover” and job-killing taxes on Ohio businesses. But the health care law relies on the private sector, and neither it nor Brown’s most recent vote for the Middle Class Tax Relief Act raise taxes for most Americans. What’s more, the Recovery Act didn’t ‘fail – it helped keep the recession that killed millions of jobs from being even worse.

Read more after the jump.

Crossroads GPS: “Suffered”

adcheck •

Crossroads GPS accuses Sen. Bill Nelson of “hurting Florida’s seniors” by supporting the Affordable Care Act, which the ad says “cuts Medicare spending by $700 billion.” However, while the health care law does reduce the future growth of Medicare spending, it does not cut seniors’ benefits – and Nelson’s opponent, Rep. Connie Mack, voted for the same savings last year when he backed the GOP budget authored by Rep. Paul Ryan. The health care law also benefits seniors by closing the “donut hole” and providing free preventive care, while repealing the Affordable Care Act would hasten Medicare’s insolvency and have negative consequences for millions of Americans.

Read more after the jump.

American Future Fund: “Choice: North Dakota Heidi Heitkamp”

adcheck •

American Future Fund praises Heidi Heitkamp’s character, but suggests North Dakota voters shouldn’t support her because Rep. Rick Berg offers a better vision for government. AFF illustrates that contrast by talking about the Medicare spending reductions in the Affordable Care Act, which the ad claims are “putting seniors at risk.” But while Heitkamp was in North Dakota voicing support for President Obama’s health care law, Berg was in Congress voting for the exact same ‘cuts’ – twice.

Read more after the jump.

Americans for Prosperity: “Smarter Spending Not Higher Taxes”

adcheck •

Using familiar distortions of Senate candidate Tim Kaine’s tenure as governor of Virginia, Americans for Prosperity falsely claims that Kaine left Virginia with a $4.2 billion deficit. In reality, Kaine cut billions to balance every budget during his term, despite revenue shortfalls caused by the recession. AFP’s accusations about tax hikes are also out of context; Kaine’s proposals sought to fund much-needed transportation upgrades, which the GOP wanted to pay for with more long-term borrowing. And although Kaine never voted on the Affordable Care Act, AFP’s claim that the law is a “huge tax” leaves out the fact that most Americans won’t see a tax increase from the health care law, which also provides tax credits for millions.

Read more after the jump.

American Future Fund: “Bill Nelson, 1979”

adcheck •

An ad from the American Future Fund attacks Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), over the national debt and over Nelson’s vote for the Affordable Care Act. What the ad leaves out is that the health care law reduces the deficit and improves care for seniors, while the national debt was been driven up by Bush policies – including tax breaks for the wealthy that Nelson opposed – and the recession.

Read more after the jump.

American Future Fund: “What Does The Wisconsin Flag Think About Tammy Baldwin?”

adcheck •

In an ad featuring animated figures on the Wisconsin state flag, American Future Fund attacks Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who is currently running for U.S. Senate. The two figures on the flag discuss Baldwin’s vote for the Affordable Care Act, which reduces the deficit and improves care for seniors, and the national debt, which has been driven up by Bush policies and the recession – not by Tammy Baldwin.

Read more after the jump.