Purporting to correct Obama, WSJ falsely suggests health care law cuts “guaranteed Medicare benefits”

From the June 11 Wall Street Journal editorial:

The White House is launching its latest Willy Loman campaign to resell ObamaCare, helped by $125 million that unions and other interest groups say they'll spend to make Americans love their new entitlement. Seniors in particular should curb their enthusiasm.

“First and foremost,” President Obama told seniors on Tuesday in Wheaton, Maryland, “what you need to know is that the guaranteed Medicare benefits that you've earned will not change, regardless of whether you receive them through Medicare or Medicare Advantage.” First and foremost, nothing about that sentence is true.

Advantage gives almost one of four seniors private insurance options, and Democrats are about to cut its funding by some $136 billion over the next decade even as health costs rise. The Congressional Budget Office says these cuts will cause enrollment to drop by 35%, the Administration's own Medicare actuaries predict 50%, and both outfits take for granted that benefits will also decline.

In fact, the law explicitly protects the guaranteed benefits of Medicare Advantage enrollees

Law states: “Nothing in this Act shall result in the reduction or elimination of any benefits guaranteed by law to participants in Medicare Advantage plans.” From the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:

SEC. 3601. PROTECTING AND IMPROVING GUARANTEED MEDICARE BENEFITS.

(a) PROTECTING GUARANTEED MEDICARE BENEFITS. -- Nothing in the provisions of, or amendments made by, this Act shall result in a reduction of guaranteed benefits under title XVIII of the Social Security Act.

(b) ENSURING THAT MEDICARE SAVINGS BENEFIT THE MEDICARE PROGRAM AND MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES. -- Savings generated for the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act under the provisions of, and amendments made by, this Act shall extend the solvency of the Medicare trust funds, reduce Medicare premiums and other cost-sharing for beneficiaries, and improve or expand guaranteed Medicare benefits and protect access to Medicare providers.

SEC. 3602. NO CUTS IN GUARANTEED BENEFITS.

Nothing in this Act shall result in the reduction or elimination of any benefits guaranteed by law to participants in Medicare Advantage plans.

Medicare Advantage plans required to cover “all the services that Original Medicare covers.” Medicare.gov states: “Medicare Advantage plans always cover emergency and urgent care. Medicare Advantage Plans must cover all the services that Original Medicare covers, except hospice care. (Original Medicare covers hospice care even if you're in a Medicare Advantage Plan.)”

Health Affairs' Susan Dentzer: "[W]hen the president said, your guaranteed benefits won't change, he's correct." Susan Dentzer, editor in chief of Health Affairs, told PBS' NewsHour that “when the president said, your guaranteed benefits won't change, he's correct.” Dentzer added: “It's some of the extras that some of these plans have provided that may or may not change. But, quite honestly, we won't know that for several years.”

AARP: "[E]xtra benefits" -- not “guaranteed benefits” -- may be cut. Answering questions about the health care reform law, the AARP Bulletin wrote on June 7 that “the law comes with this warranty: There will be no cuts in guaranteed benefits for Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.” AARP further stated that “care for people in Medicare Advantage plans costs 13 percent more than it costs for people in traditional Medicare,” adding, “So it's not surprising that these payments have enabled Medicare Advantage plans to offer extra benefits like dental coverage, eyeglasses and gym memberships. As the subsidies are scaled back, some of those may be cut.”