If there’s one thing Congressional Democrats don’t like, it’s a clean spending bill – and this week they’re showing that their messaging hasn’t changed since at least the 1994-era “Republicans want to push grandma off a cliff” messaging.
With a potential government shutdown looming this week, Democrats’ coordinated messaging campaign to defeat a clean continuing resolution bill – which simply continues existing government funding through the end of the fiscal year – aims to terrify Medicare and Social Security recipients. They’re going to institute massive cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, they say, and allow Social Security to go fully belly-up. They’re especially targeting disabled people, who are generally recipients of both Medicare and SSI, leading them to believe they’ll lose both their income and their healthcare if this continuing resolution bill passes – and that’s complete bunk.
The headline and subhead for this NBC News article encapsulates the Democrats’ willful misinformation:
Republicans can’t meet their own budget target without cutting Medicare or Medicaid, budget office says
The House GOP has ordered the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid funding, to cut $880 billion in a bill to advance Trump’s agenda.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley was even more bold, telling Social Security recipients to plan for an interruption of benefits:
“Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits,” he said. “I believe you will see that within the next 30 to 90 days.”
Warning of these interruptions, O’Malley said, “people should start saving now.”
And, of course, it’s because Republicans want to hurt women, children, old people, and “the poors,” as the late El Rushbo would say. From Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM):
Medicaid covers 34% of residents in NM-01, including 78,000 children, 3,100 births, and 22,000 seniors.
This is who the GOP is taking Medicaid from: children, seniors, and mothers.
But we are fighting back!
— Rep. Melanie Stansbury (@Rep_Stansbury) March 7, 2025
That’s “birthing people” to you, Rep. Stansbury.
Let’s not forget the class warfare angle. From Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE):
During his first term, Trump ran up the national debt giving his rich friends massive tax breaks.
Now in his second term, he wants to pay for another huge tax cut by slashing your Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
This time is different, and so much worse.
— Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (@SenatorLBR) March 5, 2025
It’s a bit of a niche issue, but some Dems are raising big (false) alarms about funding for Medicare coverage of audio-only telehealth visits, saying that the program will be eliminated entirely at the end of the month because Trump is greedy and doesn’t care about Medicare recipients (my summary of the arguments). At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, then-President Trump expanded access to telehealth services for Medicare recipients, then expanded access again in August 2020.
“We’ve vastly expanded coverage allowing Medicare to cover more than 135 new services through telehealth.” pic.twitter.com/UafmuwV0jW
— The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) August 3, 2020
But sure, Orange Man Bad.
Like many programs enacted in response to COVID, that expansion had an expiration date. That expiration date is March 31, 2025. However, the continuing resolution bill under consideration provides funding for the program through the end of the fiscal year.
Looking at Reddit, the panic is palpable.
I have no plan B for anything beyond living month to month on my benefits like I have been since 2006 for being visually impaired beyond correction. I’m 34. y.o and was born with optic nerve hyper platia as a birth defect directly caused by contaminated drinking water at camp lejuene in the 80s. I live alone with my cat and dog renting in income based housing in western NY. I just can’t imagine the way of life that I know right now being taken away from me.
One of the replies:
I’m terrified. We are living as if it’s going to happen.
I would suggest stocking up on anything you will need if things go South. Shelf stable food, water, refill meds as soon as you are able, etc. If you can’t afford this I would suggest finding a local food bank. They typically carry dried beans, nuts, rice, etc. that have a long shelf life. Most of them don’t require any income verification. If you go to Costco you can get cases of water for $3.99. Best case scenario is you end up with extra food and water.
If you can get to them, attend the protests. They need to see the disabled and that we’re afraid we won’t be paid or have medical insurance. Tomorrow at noon there is a protest at every state capitol. You can also look up protest events close to you at fiftyfifty.one. It is regularly updated. There are also economic protests happening. Use your money as a tool. If you are homebound call your representatives. This app will guide you. 5calls.org
Please be proactive. We don’t have the time to sit and wait. We have to fight this with everything we have.
We’ve seen just how politicized the disability community is in the wake of the outing of “Data Republican” Jennica Pounds, and the propaganda these vulnerable people are subjected to is shameful.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, is making the liberal media rounds to say that there’s no way the committee can cut $880 billion from Medicare and Medicaid without slashing the program, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has repeatedly said the goal is to eliminate fraud and waste. We don’t even know how much waste and fraud there is in Medicare/Medicaid yet; the real reason Democrats oppose the CR is because, without a deal, DOGE’s efforts can’t continue – and they want nothing more than to stop DOGE.
Back to the telemedicine issue. A recent Politico article points out two studies showing the financial benefits of telehealth visits, which conclude that “telehealth can deliver better quality of care while also saving money.” It would be counterproductive to eliminate the coverage.
New research suggests that when health systems incorporate telehealth into Medicare patient care, it leads to less spending.
Dr. Ishani Ganguli, study co-author and associate professor of medicine at Harvard University, told Ruth that lawmakers are concerned telemedicine is driving excess Medicare spending and delivering worse care.
The study’s findings indicate that theory is likely not the case, Ganguli said. “If anything, we’re seeing some decreases in spending, and we’re seeing less low-value care, which is a signal of higher quality care.”
[R]esearch shows that telehealth can deliver better quality of care while also saving money.
A study in Health Affairs last year found that patients at health systems that provide easy access to telemedicine were more likely to adhere to their medication regimens, received more continuous care from their doctors and visited the emergency room less often. The JAMA study builds on that work.
It’s not as if Democrats have a great history of looking out for Medicare (or Social Security) recipients. During the Biden presidency, Democrats loved cutting Medicare benefits – mostly to Medicare Advantage plans, which are more likely to include popular, forward-thinking ways of providing care like telehealth.
We’re in an Election Year, and Joe Biden Has Decided to Cut Medicare Advantage Benefits
Biden Busted by Twitter for Lying About GOP Medicare Cuts, While He’s Targeting Medicare Advantage
I am not a fan of using continuing resolutions to fund the government and generally oppose them. In this limited instance, though, I’m with President Trump, Rep. Lance Gooden, and many others in supporting this CR.
Rep. @Lancegooden: “Democrats are refusing to vote for this bill. It’s a clean CR…There are no pet projects — all the usual stuff that folks hate about these Continuing Resolutions is NOT in this CR.” pic.twitter.com/v4QLG0TEn9
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 10, 2025
Massive reforms are needed immediately to ensure that Medicare and Medicaid can be available for those who need them, as Reps. Eric Burlison, Chip Roy, and Andy Harris wrote at RedState earlier Monday. There is no danger to Medicare/Medicaid recipients from this CR; shame on Democrats for continuing their standard tactic of ginning up panic and fear in vulnerable communities as a method of political warfare.
Elon Musk and DOGE are bringing much-needed accountability to our out-of-control bureaucracy as they take a chainsaw to rampant waste, fraud, and abuse.
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