Democratic Presidential Nominee Obama Says GOP Nominee McCain Would Make ‘Drastic Cuts’ in Medicare; McCain Campaign Disputes Charge

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) on Friday during a campaign event in Roanoke, Va., said that Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) would make "drastic cuts in Medicare" to finance his health care proposal, a charge refuted by the McCain campaign, CQ HealthBeat reports. According to Obama, an analysis released by the Center for American Progress shows that McCain would reduce Medicare spending by $882 billion (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 10/17).

The proposal "would mean a cut of more than 20% in Medicare benefits next year," Obama said (Sack, New York Times, 10/18). He added, "It would mean fewer places to get care, and less freedom to choose your own doctors." In addition, Obama said, "You'll pay more for your drugs. You'll receive fewer services. You'll get lower quality care. I don't think that's right" (Talev/Douglas, McClatchy/Hartford Courant, 10/18).

In a new television advertisement released on Friday, Obama says that the proposal would require "cuts in benefits, eligibility or both" to Medicare. The ad cites the analysis released by CAP and an article in the Wall Street Journal in which Douglas Holtz-Eakin, top domestic policy adviser to McCain, was cited as saying that McCain would use savings in Medicare and Medicaid to fund a portion of the refundable tax credits included in his health care proposal.

McCain Campaign Response
Holtz-Eakin on Friday said that McCain would make changes to Medicare that would reduce spending with a minimal effect on benefits. According to Holtz-Eakin, such changes include increased use of electronic health records, a reduction in Medicare fraud, increased payments for prescription drugs for higher-income beneficiaries, increased use of generic medications, elimination of federal subsidies for Medicare Advantage plans, more effective treatment of chronic conditions, and increased focus on prevention and primary care in the reimbursement system.

He said, "We believe and have believed from the day we rolled out our health care plan that the comprehensive reforms are budget-neutral." According to the Times, economists say that "these initiatives should save money over the long term, but estimates of how much and how fast are varied and totally speculative." The Times adds that "both candidates rely on such guesswork to present plans that appear fiscally balanced" (New York Times, 10/18).

Holtz-Eakin said, "No service is being reduced. Every beneficiary will in the future receive exactly the benefits that they have been promised from the beginning," adding, "Instead, Medicare will reflect -- and lead, in many cases -- the broad transformation of the American health care system" (CQ HealthBeat, 10/17). Holtz-Eakin criticized the comments that Obama made about the proposal as the "worst and most sustained distortion of policy in this entire campaign" (New York Times, 10/18). He said, "The spin is inappropriate, the distortion is outrageous," adding, "It's an attempt to simply scare America's seniors" (Michaels, Dallas Morning News, 10/18).

Other Developments
Summaries of several other recent developments related to health care issues in the presidential election appear below.

• Advisers discuss proposals: Health care advisers to Obama and McCain discussed their health care proposals during a forum at Johns Hopkins Hospital on Friday, the Annapolis Capital reports (Bogdan, Annapolis Capital, 10/19).
  
  
• American Dental Association: ADA members during an annual meeting in San Antonio last week called on the major presidential candidates to discuss issues related to dental care in their campaigns, the San Antonio Express-News reports (Finley, San Antonio Express-News, 10/19).
  
  
• Bill Clinton: Former President Clinton on Sunday during a speech in Las Vegas expressed support for Obama and his health care proposal, which he said would expand health insurance to more U.S. residents than the McCain plan, the Las Vegas Sun reports (Mishak, Las Vegas Sun, 10/20).
  
  
• Scientific research: Both major presidential candidates support federal funding for scientific research as "vital for America's health, economy and environment," but they have different views about the involvement of government, McClatchy/Raleigh News & Observer reports. According to McClatchy/News & Observer, "Obama leans more toward government help, while McCain's Republican approach includes lower taxes, incentives to private industry and less government regulation" (Boyd, McClatchy/Raleigh News & Observer, 10/19).
  
  
• Small Businesses: The tax and health care proposals of the major presidential candidates would affect small businesses, but the question of which candidate would "give them the best deal" has "no simple answers," the Wall Street Journal reports (Schatz, Wall Street Journal, 10/18).

Examination of Health Care Proposals
Several newspapers recently examined the Obama and McCain health care proposals. Summaries appear below.

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday examined how, although Obama and McCain have different health care proposals, both plans are expensive, according to analysts (Miller, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/19).
  
  
• The Chicago Tribune on Sunday highlighted the positions of the major presidential candidates on health insurance and other issues important to young voters (Bigda, Chicago Tribune, 10/19).
  
  
• The Christian Science Monitor on Monday as part of a series on election issues examined whether the Obama or McCain health care proposal would address problems with the health care system more effectively (Marks, Christian Science Monitor, 10/20).
  
  
• The Los Angeles Times on Sunday profiled the health care and other proposals of the major presidential candidates (Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 10/19).
  
  
• The Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday examined the concerns that voters have about the Obama and McCain health care proposals, such as coverage, government programs and costs (Rosetta, Salt Lake Tribune, 10/18).

Opinion Pieces
Several newspapers recently published opinion pieces that addressed health care issues in the presidential election. Summaries appear below.

• McCain, Denver Post: "For every American, access to quality and affordable health care is key to their family's economic security and another step toward their realization of the American dream," and health care reform should allow "American families to choose the coverage that best meets their needs," McCain writes in a Denver Post opinion piece. McCain says that as president he would "bring down the skyrocketing cost of health care with competition and choice to lower your premiums and make it more available" to more U.S. residents. "The status quo is not on the ballot this election," McCain writes, adding, "I, along with Gov. Palin, will put country first by putting the health and economic security of American families first" (McCain, Denver Post, 10/17).
  
  
• Obama, Denver Post: Health care "should finally be the right of every American," Obama writes in a Denver Post opinion piece. According to Obama, the "American people cannot afford four more years of a philosophy that does more to help insurance companies than it does to lower costs for ordinary Americans." He writes, "I will never stop fighting until we have fixed our health care system so that no family ever has to ever go through what my mother went through," adding, "That is my promise to you" (Obama, Denver Post, 10/17).
  
  
• Scott Gottlieb, Wall Street Journal: A proposal by Congressional Democrats to allow Medicare to negotiate specialty drug prices is "based on a view of medical care as a commodity to be purchased at the lowest price, with little allowance for innovation," and "could push drug development over a tipping point," Gottlieb, a physician and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, writes in a Journal opinion piece. According to Gottlieb, although the health care system has problems, proposals exist to "address these troubling issues without preying on medical innovation and its health contributions." He writes, "Obama's policies on drug access and his party's plans to control pricing will distort the financial incentives that inspire innovations," adding, "This will shortchange the contributions innovations provide" (Gottlieb, Wall Street Journal, 10/18).

Broadcast Coverage
NPR's "Weekend Edition Saturday" on Saturday reported on how Obama has criticized the McCain health care proposal (Gonyea, "Weekend Edition Saturday," NPR, 10/18).