Presidential debate 101: Is Romney right about $716 billion in Medicare cuts?

In Wednesday's presidential debate, the GOP's Mitt Romney cited ill effects from $716 billion in cuts to Medicare contained in Obama's health-care reform law. Here's a look at what fact-checkers say.

By Laura Edwins,?Contributor / October 4, 2012

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Obama participate in the first presidential debate at the University of Denver on Oct. 3. During the debate, Mr. Romney brought up Mr. Obama's plan to cut $716 billion from Medicare as part of his Affordable Care Act. Charges of damage to Medicare have come up time and again during the campaign.

Charlie Neibergall/AP

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Medicare has been a hot topic this campaign cycle, and it came up again during Wednesday?s debate between President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

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Mr. Romney brought up a point he?s hit hard before ? that with the passage of his health-care reform law, the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Obama is responsible for $716 billion in cuts to Medicare.

"If the president were to be reelected you're going to see a $716 billion cut to?Medicare," Romney said. "You?ll have 4 million people who will lose Medicare Advantage. You?ll have hospitals and providers that?ll no longer accept Medicare patients.?I?ll restore that $716 billion to Medicare."

Decoder has taken on this claim before, but with the dollar number in the spotlight again, let's take a look at how other news outlets are decoding this claim.

After the debate, the Tampa Bay Times? PolitiFact rated Romney?s claim?as ?half true.? It explains exactly where the number, $716 billion, comes from:?A Congressional Budget Office report?determined that between 2013 and 2022, the Affordable Care Act would reduce the amount of federal spending on Medicare by $716 billion.

But PoltiFact clarifies that those spending reductions would come at the expense of insurance companies and hospitals, not Medicare beneficiaries. Obama?s goal, it says, is to slow the growth in the program's expenditures, not cut the current budget.

The Washington Post has a nifty pie chart?that shows how the $716 billion in Medicare cuts is divvied up.?The Post reports that 34.8 percent of cuts are attributed to hospital?reimbursement?rates, though it predicts hospitals should be able to make up some of that loss. Some of the cuts will be funds for hospitals to encourage them to see more uninsured patients. Because the Affordable Care Act expands insurance coverage to all Americans, the number of uninsured patients hospitals must treat will be reduced.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/xMoYNfC3Wkg/Presidential-debate-101-Is-Romney-right-about-716-billion-in-Medicare-cuts

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