Obama Ad Warns Seniors: McCain Will Gut Medicare

Keeping attention on pocket-book issues, Barack Obama's campaign put out an ad on Friday accusing John McCain of wanting to tax health care benefits and cut Medicare.

Titled "It Gets Worse," the spot plays off a recent Wall Street Journal article in which McCain's economic adviser Douglas Holtz Eakin admitted to a reporter that the Senator's reforms could "result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years" to Medicaid and Medicare. The campaign - which puts that figure at $882 billion for Medicare alone (taken from a study of the Center for American Progress Action Fund) - uses several shots of distressed seniors to drive the message home.

"John McCain's health care plan... First we learned he's going to tax health care benefits to pay for part of it," goes the ad. "Now the Wall Street Journal reports John McCain would pay for the rest of his health care plan 'with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid...'"

The McCain campaign would not provide details to the Wall Street Journal about which elements of the programs would be cut. They insisted that the saved cash would go to cover McCain's planned health care tax credit, though critics note that the credit covers only half of the average annual health cost paid by Americans.

Comments

[bayladie]

I was a dem. now I am too scared to be. My savings are gone. I had a Medicare HMO plan that cost nothing, it was great and so was the agent who sold it to me. Of course the agent got paid from the HMO company. NOW a dem. Pete Stark from CA. wants to cut off the agents pay and the HMO.
It was the best plan for me and all my friends.
Tell him not to cut the pay because none of us would have known about it if it was not for him.
He saved our lives, no joke.
Don't "spread the wealth" by taking our medicare... and take a job away from a great HMO agent
A very frustrated former dem

[formerprosecutor]

I just watched a McCain ad for economic recovery. The ad speaks about how your savings will be restored and your investments will recover. Holy Moley!! This man doesn't get it. There are a hundred million people out ther that don't have their own home (anyomre). The people that make this country work: the people in school cafeterias, wal mart, Safeway, sportings goods tore, on that backhoe, and working at the lumber mill don't have any savings or investments. Those women that clean McCains houses and press his clothes are living hand to mouth. Those seniors out ther trying to live on SS and food stamps; they invest in staying alive. All those self employed mom and pop c stores, orchartds, and shoe stores are worried about helth care , which they don't have. Those deputy sheriffs out there making 24k a year are angry because they MUST contribute to a state retirement instead of buying a house for their family, a question to them of "Live "Now or Later?" Obama knows this; McCain is clueless.

[anopenmind]

Great Ad! I sent it to my 80 year-old aunty!

[BeltwayBette]

Florida Sen. Debbie Schultz announced on the Keith Olbermann show several weeks ago that McCain had announced his plan the Saturday before to cut Medicare benefits by $1.3Trillion and said that he would use that to help pay for his health plan. She was worried about her many elderly Florida retirees.

His health plan is to be privatized and have no regulations. Isnt' that the same combination of policies that helped Wall Street marauders rip us off? As in I worry about how much bath soap costs while AIG CEO's and sales staff get spa treatments on our $85 million? Hello?

[formerprosecutor]

yep SSDD (you know what that means: McSame)

[tbone99]

This is a great ad to get out. .. Older people are the largest group of voters and have the most to lose because they are more vulnerable financially and healthwise. Hope they get the message loud and clear... Mccain's healthcare is worse than abortion - it will take the living and finish them off quickly.

[HalR]

This should get the straight forward ad should get the attention of those who want to worry about the wedge issues. Let see if they are willing to vote McSame/Palin to wipe out their income and gov. health coverage. Great ad. straight to the point.

[VikingQuest]

"Let see if they are willing to vote McSame/Palin to wipe out their income and gov. health coverage"

You mean wipe out the country with the current SS & Medicare promises?

These entitlements make the $11 trillion debt look small.

[tel8034]

It's interesting that McCain who always talks about TRANSPARENCY, now refuses to say which parts and how much Medicare and Medicaid will be cut if he becomes President.

McCain as President will have all of his healthcare needs covered (by the taxpayers no less) but he doesn't care what happens to the rest of us.

[VikingQuest]

The total unfunded obligations for Medicare, which is $34 trillion.

The total unfunded obligation for Social Security which is about 7 plus our debt and other liabilities. $53 trillion is $440,000 per American household.

- David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States of America

[VikingQuest]

All I have to say to that is . . . GOOD. Someone needs to do something about Medicare now, right now the promises made with the current system leaves us $53 TRILLION IN THE HOLE.

There are a few options that need to be considered that could cover the expenses:

1. Raise taxes across the board 60%
2. Raise the age for elgibility
3. Cut Spending
4. Combination of all 3

[bluzz]

PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE....run this ad in Florida over and over and over again!!!!! Heck, spend 20 million running it on a loop!

[PeepingTom]

McCain si so rich, he can pay for health care out of his gold-lined pockets.

He'll never need Medicaid or Medicare. He can pay in cold hard cash.

But I believe he did state this in the 2nd debates, no? when asked what cuts would have to be made

[VikingQuest]

The Medicare & Medicaid budget for 2008 was over a trillion dollars . . . no one is that rich and those programs only cover a small % of americans. They cannot continue like this.

[wmafoune]

These old people need to get over their racism and vote for their own interest. Also young people we need to get out there because these old people don't care, they won't live long enough to pay the debt so we will be stuck with it for the rest of our lives.

[arvay]

Just so you know, this 65-year-old paleface is voting for Obama, and I think I'll have lots of company when retired people grasp McCain's "health care" plan.

Lots of us are already worried that the pensions we earned over decades of hard work might evaporate because of McCain's hare-brained deregulation schemes. He also supported Bush's drive to privatize Social Security, and we can imagine how things would be if he'd succeeded.

With Obama as president and a solid Democratic majority, I know that for the rest of my life I will feed cat food to my cat and not serve it up as my breakfast.

[Viper]

The baby boomers are beginning to retire. The number of people on medciare are is goiong to be increasing radicaly.

Its thus not mathematically possible to make cuts in medicare ( except the Drug part, by the Government buying the drugs like in europe and canada, which McCain and reopugs are against).

In fact Medicare rates have delined over the past ten years, but costs have not! Thus there are no cuts that can be made and still have a Medicare program.

Reality is if cost per medicare enrollee stayed the same... Medicare costs are going to increase by a lot, since the number of people on medicare is about to double! Another example Like McCain on Healthcare where he and his advisors dont have a clue... just like on Iraq and tax cuts for the top 2 percent and free trade and out sourcing..

Regards

[Grunty1]

Taking care of the health of American's isn't important to McCain.
He wants to use that 1.3 trillion in the next couple of years to fight the next war.

Death over life, the GOP way.

[JHCowboy]

They should also run this ad in Arizona as well. Obama surrogates need to infiltrate Arizona. Arizona needs help also because they are being forced to vote (yet again) on a marriage amendment similar to the one in California. Arizona needs a major blue wake up call.

[lemonyashes]

Yea, but since McCain is the Arizona Senator not likely to have much effect. I think Arizona would have been in play like Colorado and New Mexico if it weren't for the fact that he is their senator so must feel a certain loyalty. Gore didn't win his state so it's not impossible for a state to vote against it's own, perhaps Arizonans should be reminded of this fact.

[McChimp]

Mac himself is not popular with Arizonians, as he has done nothing for their state

Pretty much the only people who re elected him were the same people who put Bush in office twice, and none of Mac's opponents in Arizona stood a chance against him because he was simply able to buy his way to re election.

After Mac retires, maybe Arizonians will finally get the message and quit electing McCains into the Senate.