Biden Busted by Twitter for Lying About GOP Medicare Cuts, While He's Targeting Medicare Advantage

Joe Biden and his team have a history of telling falsehoods about Social Security and Medicare. I wrote in the past how they falsely took credit for a cost of living increase to Social Security required by law because of the high inflation they helped to cause. But one of the biggest lies they’ve been spreading is about Republicans — that they want to cut Social Security and Medicare.

It’s something they’re constantly claiming, even though House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has said the programs are “off the table.”

"Cuts to Medicare and Social Security, they're OFF THE TABLE."

— @SpeakerMcCarthy on increasing the debt limit pic.twitter.com/7Mj3j93Pmd

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 6, 2023

McCarthy emphasized in January in his “Commitment to America” the need to strengthen Social Security and Medicare, not cut them.

But that didn’t stop Joe Biden from lying about it on Sunday.

House Republicans are threatening to cut Social Security and Medicare, putting the dignity of millions of Americans who rely on these programs at risk.

I won’t stand for that. We ought to strengthen these programs – not gut them.

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 5, 2023

“House Republicans are threatening to cut Social Security and Medicare, putting the dignity of millions of Americans who rely on these programs at risk,” Biden falsely claimed. “I won’t stand for that. We ought to strengthen these programs – not gut them.”

Twitter flagged Biden’s tweet, pointing out what McCarthy said — that it was “off the table” in talks about raising the debt limit.

pic.twitter.com/j6RkbeI0sb

— Dr. Nickarama (@nickaramaOG) February 7, 2023

When Twitter has to call you out, your lie is pretty bad.

But not only is Biden lying about the Republicans, he’s also doing it while he’s making moves that could hurt Medicare seniors.

His administration has released two statements in the past week related to two cuts, that would Medicare Advantage.

First, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that they would “claw back $4.7 billion from 2023 through 2032” in overpayments. That could then lead to “higher costs to plans” that “could lead some insurers to pull out of markets — and beneficiaries could face higher costs, fewer plan choices or reduced supplemental benefits under the Medicare Advantage program, per an Avalere analysis.”

In the second move — which is even more concerning — Medicare Advantage insurers would face an average 2.3 percent cut to baseline payments in 2024, Biden’s CMS said on Wednesday. That would be a net cut of more than $3 billion to the industry.

Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C, is used by 48 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, so that’s a lot of Americans who Biden could be hurting with those moves. On top of that, Medicare Advantage is supported by a bipartisan majority of the Senate including Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Jon Tester (D-MT), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The bipartisan group wrote a letter imploring CMS to “continue to sustain and strengthen Medicare Advantage.” “We ask that the Administration provide a stable rate and policy environment for Medicare Advantage that will strengthen and ensure the long-term sustainability of the program—protecting access to its important benefits on which our constituents have come to rely,” the senators asked.

House Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman Kevin Hern (R-OK) sounded an alarm about what Biden was doing. Hern warned where Biden was going with this, “Biden just cut nearly $5 billion in funding for Medicare Advantage, and this is just his first step. The end goal is to get everyone – not just seniors – onto government-controlled, Medicare-for-All plans.”

So if Joe Biden wants to call out someone for targeting Medicare seniors, he may want to check a mirror.