Paul Ryan

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by Vampyr

So is it true that Ryan spent this entire speech telling lies at the last convention?

Well, it depends on your version of the truth, I guess, and how you define spending, etc. Also, it depends on whether or not you consider exaggerations and spin to be the same as lies.

Example Claim - The ACA guts over $700 million from Medicare.

The "Lie" Version: The ACA does NOT cut the current level of Medicare spending at all.

The "Truth" Version: The ACA DOES cut the planned growth in Medicare spending by the amount claimed.

Politicians, including this Administration, have often spoken about current and future spending interchangeably, depending on what benefits them.

From FactCheck.org:

http://factcheck.org/2012/08/ryans-vp-spin/

The Affordable Care Act calls for a $716 billion reduction in the future growth of Medicare spending over 10 years, with most of that — about $415 billion — coming from a reduction in the future growth of payments to hospitals through Medicare Part A. And Medicare Part A’s trust fund, as we’ve explained before, is in trouble financially. It’s set to be insolvent in 2024, even with these spending cuts. Without them, the trust fund wouldn’t be able to fully pay projected benefits in 2016, the Medicare trustees estimate.

Slightly off topic: Yes, the ACA plan to reduce costs in Medicare is to simply pay less for hospitals and doctors. I'm sure this will have no unintended consequences...

[Professor S]

Oh, and an example of people essentially "lying" about Ryan's "lies":

Claim: "Ryan's budget keeps the same cuts to Medicare Part A that Obamacare does, so Ryan is a hypocrite."

The first part of that statement is true...

BUT

... Ryan's plan puts the future funds directly into the Medicare trust fund to help shore it up (it is bleeding cash), as opposed to the Democrat plan that diverts the funds into the ACA. So if you're a senior, and Ryan states that the ACA "raids" funds from Medicare (healthcare for seniors) to fund the ACA (healthcare for all), it is technically true.

Claim: “That $716 billion is exactly the same amount of Medicare savings, to the dollar, that Congressman Ryan had in his own budget.”

True. Even Ryan has admitted that his House budget proposal kept the Medicare savings in Obama’s health care law. The difference, Ryan said at the time, was that he would have used the savings entirely to strengthen the Medicare trust fund — not to pay for the other new benefits in the health care law.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz25hVVRLAJ