The Medicare “Crisis”: A “Shaggy Wolf Story”

Trustees’ Report Much Less Gloomy than Advertised

Summary: Below, Part 2 of the May 13 post headlined “Medicare Trustees Report that Reform Legislation Cuts Medicare Costs by 25 Percent.”

Conservatives continue to use the annual report recently released by Medicare’s Trustees as evidence that Medicare needs what one conservative pundit calls a “sweeping overhaul.” In theory, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s plan to privatize Medicare is dead, but somehow, it’s still in the news. Yesterday Newt Gingrich announced that he’s with Ryan, and today Senator John Kerry is calling a press conference to denounce Ryan’s voucher plan.

What has been lost in the debate is the fact that the Trustee’s report is not nearly as gloomy as advertised.