ObamaCare - A Serious Health Risk for Seniors

Dear Policy Patriots - Medicare Chief Accountant Reports ObamaCare Costs More Than Advertized. Richard Foster, a man you've probably never heard of, has made history. We're proud of Mr. Foster and you should be, too. Here's why: Richard Foster, Chief Actuary of Medicare. As the nation's number one accountant for the federal government's largest unfunded entitlement, Foster's job is to estimate future costs for a government program that literally saves lives every day. He's been in the position for the past 15 years, studying the issue of health costs and reporting on Medicare's solvency. Trustees' Report. Foster recently published the Medicare Trustees Report, just as he has since the mid-1990s. Required to evaluate the law as written, he provided legislators with the conclusions they wanted. Based on Foster's report, the White House claimed that the trustee report showed the Affordable Care Act would make Medicare stronger. But that's not why you should know Richard Foster! The Unsigned Report. At the end of the report, where you'd customarily see Foster's signature, the Medicare's Chief Actuary instead inserted a statement dismissing the entire report as "unreasonable" and "implausible" and encouraged everyone to view the alternative report instead. Foster's Appendix. What ObamaCare's creators didn't foresee is that Foster is a civil servant unwilling to play the part of the fool. In an unprecedented repudiation of the Trustee's report, Foster constructed an "alternative scenario" - that's bureaucratic jargon for "the truth" - in which ObamaCare not only doesn't bend the cost curve down, it will likely bend it up and allow health care costs to consume even more of the nation's GDP. According to Mr. Foster, ObamaCare will increase Medicare's share of the economy by 60% between now and 2040 - almost twice the administration's claim of 35%. ObamaCare Makes Medicare Weaker. The dollars-and-cents reality of ObamaCare's effect on Medicare is that, as Mr. Foster states, ObamaCare will cause: Cuts in Medicare spending of $575 billion over the next decade. 7.5 million Medicare Advantage enrollees to lose their coverage and cause another 7.5 million to face higher premiums and benefit cuts. Push 1 out of 7 American health care facilities - hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health care agencies, and hospices - into the red. Medicare physician fees to be reduced by 30% over the next three years. Many doctors to quit seeing Medicare patients entirely. Spread the Word! It shouldn't take Mr. Foster's defiance to prompt an honest debate about the future of Medicare. Help us fight for a better future for seniors by forwarding this email to your friends and encourage them to sign up for the Policy Patriot Weekly Letter! The NCPA Needs Your Help! The NCPA is a non-profit that relies solely on contributions from people like you. We don't accept government funds. Please consider supporting our work by donating online or mailing a check to:   National Center for Policy Analysis P.O. Box 650098 Dallas, Texas 75265-0098 Thanks for your support! Warm regards, Jeanette Nordstrom National Center for Policy Analysis www.ncpa.org Forward this to a Friend Click here to support the National Center for Policy Analysis. Sign up for the Daily Policy Digest - a free online daily newsletter. Subscribe to this newsletter. Click here to view the privacy statement Unsubscribe: If you received this email in error, you can unsubscribe here. Manage Subscription: You can change your email address here.