A Campaign Full of Mediscare-Fact Checking The Campaigns

In the past, we’ve thrown cold water on claims — including one from Paul Ryan — that Medicare was going to be “bankrupt.” That’s still a big exaggeration. Medicare is not going out of business, and seniors won’t suddenly be stripped of their Medicare coverage. Under current projections, the system can muddle along unchanged for at least another dozen years. But then, tens of millions of seniors would start to feel the pinch.

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There’s good reason for wanting to slow down spending (see “Medicare is in trouble,” above). And it’s a common campaign ruse for one side to cast its ideas as “savings” that will extend the life of Medicare, while disparaging the other side’s ideas as drastic cuts that will slash benefits for seniors.


The candidates disagree strongly on how to accomplish their common goal, but both have proposed cutting — or, if you’d rather, “saving” — money from the future growth of Medicare spending.

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