That incredibly shoddy study claiming that Obamacare will actually increase the deficit received prominent coverage in the Washington Post because the author wasn’t just any old Republican, it was the Republican Medicare Trustee. That must make him trustworthy, right?
I contacted Robert Reischauer, the Democratic trustee. He did not exactly endorse the work of his colleague:
Under accepted CBO and OMB scoring practices, legislated reductions in Medicare HI spending both reduce the deficit and strengthen the HI trust fund. That has been the case under both D and R Congresses and administrations. Chuck’s “revelation” is not a new charge. Some argued this point when the ACA was enacted. It remains as misleading today as it did earlier.
So, remember, the whole hook for that explosive study is that the author, Charles Blahous, is a Medicare trustee. Otherwise it would just be another one of the infinite stream of polemics from a right-wing think-tank. Given that the other Medicare trustee also notes that it’s nonsense, what possible justification can the Post offer for its credulousness?
If you want to see more nails driven into this particular coffin, read Paul Van de Water.
