Guess Who's Correcting the Record on Medicare 'Cut' Scare?

October 22nd, 2008 6:12 PM

Believe it or not, The Washington Post and CBS News.

That's right -- if you've been seeing Obama's ads accusing McCain of cutting Medicare benefits to pay for his health care plan, you're not alone. 

The Post awarded an Obama ad called "Your Golden Years" three Pinocchios for its "significant factual errors." It even gave the source of Obama's numbers: "How did the Obama campaign come up with the claim of an $800 billion cut in Medicare (described in another Obama ad as an $882 billion cut)? Answer: some back-of-the-envelope calculations by a liberal think tank, the Center for American Progress.”

CBS's Wyatt Andrews also explained the facts, pointing out that Obama has claimed he'll deliver similar savings to fund his own programs.

"This is a whole different concept from what Obama is claiming: ‘drastic cuts’ in actual health care benefits delivered to seniors," Andrews said. "Not to mention that Obama himself proposes every single item from the list of Medicare savings above, with the exception of Medicare Part D reform.”

Andrews previously fact-checked Obama’s claim that McCain wants to tax people’s health benefits, explaining that most people would receive a tax cut with the McCain tax credit for health insurance.