Many conservatives are linking to an article in The Washington Post on Medicare problems and falsely attributing the problems discussed in it to “Obamacare.” The fact is that the problems noted in the article are either problems beginning well before Obama took office and/or problems which Democrats have attempted to fix under health care reform.
The major problem cited is the sustainable growth formula. This was a formula devised by Congress in 1997 and the problems from it first were seen in 2001. The Democrats have tried several times since Obama took office to fix this, either as part of the health care reform legislation or in separate legislation. In each case the Republicans have acted to block these fixes.
Another problem noted is the disparity between payment for primary care physicians and specialists. The health care reform legislation takes some steps to reduce, although not eliminate, this problem.
Any claims that this article supports the critics of health care reform is not only false but actually demonstrates that health care reform did not go far enough. I bet that over the next several years we will see conservatives continue to blame any health care problems on Obamacare, regardless of whether the problems have anything to do with the actual health care reform legislation which has passed.
