President Joe Biden pledged to stop anyone who tries to cut Medicare during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, but his administration is currently pushing to cut billions of dollars from Medicare Advantage.
Budget cuts have been at the center of the fight over how to handle the debt ceiling, and Republicans have denied charges that they are plotting to cut Medicare or Social Security. The Biden administration, however, is moving to cut $4.7 billion from Medicare Advantage, an increasingly popular alternative to traditional Medicare, from 2023 to 2032, according to Axios.
“The mainstream media allowed Biden to get away with gargantuan lies during his State of the Union address,” Republican Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “He refused to take the blame for his failures, and instead railed against Republicans (who spent the last four years in the minority) for everything from inflation to cutting Medicare. The fact is, just last week the Biden Administration cut Medicare programs by administrative fiat. These cuts will impact millions of seniors.”
“We will not cut Medicare,” Biden said in his Tuesday speech. “If anyone tries to cut Social Security — which apparently they’re not going to do — and if anyone tries, and Medicare, I’ll stop them. I’ll veto it.” (RELATED: Biden’s IRS Pushes Scheme To Crack Down On Restaurant Tips)
Biden just gutted Medicare Advantage.https://t.co/U7L3xrt90T
— Brian Babin (@RepBrianBabin) February 8, 2023
His comment was met with praise from Democrats including Democratic New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who suggested independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had actually written the speech.
The Biden administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Jan. 30 it plans to conduct audits and recoup funds from overpayments to insurance programs dating back to 2011, which will mean clawing back $4.7 billion from the program, according to Axios.
On Feb. 1, CMS proposed $3 billion in Medicare Advantage cuts as part of an effort to change the way insurance companies record their data; insurance companies would get less money from Medicare Advantage for certain diagnoses, according to Kaiser Health News.
Republican Texas Rep. Brian Babin said Biden had “gutted” Medicare Advantage with these moves.
The White House did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
This story has been updated with comment from Rep. Kevin Hern.
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