Is Obamacare An Attack on Seniors? A Google Doodle

I do not know if Obamacare is an attack on seniors. But in his “Health Alert: “War on Seniors,” John Goodman, a conservative economist who founded the National Center for Policy Analysis, asserts,

• "More than half the cost of health reform will be paid for by $523 billion of cuts in Medicare spending over the next ten years."

• "Although there are some new benefits for seniors (mainly new drug coverage), the costs exceed the benefits by a factor of more than ten to one."

• "As many as 8.5 million of the 11 million seniors in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans may lose their coverage, according to Medicare’s Chief Actuary."

• "Those lucky enough to retain their MA coverage will face steep cuts in benefits or hefty increases in premiums or both."

• "In addition to these direct costs there are indirect costs, including new taxes on drugs and medical devices. Although these taxes don’t single out senior citizens, who do you think are the heaviest users of wheelchairs, crutches, artificial joints, pacemakers, etc.?"

• "To make matters worse, severe rationing problems lie ahead, as 32 million newly insured people double their consumption of medical care under a reform bill that produces not one new doctor or nurse or other paramedical personnel."

. "Because many of the newly insured will be in private plans paying market rates, they will be more attractive to doctors than Medicare enrollees paying about 20% to 30% less."

Do Goodman's assertions reflect the prevalent opinion?

Yes, among seniors. according to various polls,seniors oppose Obamacare by about a 60:40 margin. And yes, among the American public. Thirteen percent more of the public now “oppose” health reform current health reform bill than “favor” it ( see average poll results among 20 national polls on Real Clear Politics).

But I am still not convinced that a "war" exists. So I have gone to Google to see what it listed as the top 10“Obamacare and Seniors" articles to get a sense of what is being said out there among the media.

Here is what I find.

Results 1 - 10 of about 204,000 for "Obamacare and Seniors."

Search Results

1. GovernmentCare's Assault on Seniors. - WSJ.com
Jul 23, 2009 ... The assault against seniors began with the stimulus package in February. ... ObamaCare will undo that. Ms. McCaughey is chairman of the ...
online.wsj.com

2. How Obamacare Will Cost Many Seniors Their Private Drug Insurance ... Jan 2, 2010 ... The Wall Street Journal writes about the Senate's destructive change in the way retiree health benefits are taxed.
online.wsj.com

3. Obamacare For Seniors – The Gift That Keeps On Taking ...
Apr 6, 2010 ... Obamacare for seniors equals higher costs, limited access to services and ultimately rationed care.
libertyssong.wordpress.com

4. Exempted From Obamacare: Senior Staff Who Wrote the Bill
Mar 22, 201.newledger.com

5. The Catholic Thing - Obamacare: Will Seniors Have a Duty to Die?
Jul 29, 2009 ... The Catholic Thing: cultural and political commentary grounded in Catholic Tradition, George Marlin on Obamacare and the denial of treatment ...
www.thecatholicthing.org/content/view

6. Morning Bell: Obamacare's Effect on Seniors | The Foundry ...
Jul 28, 2009 ... Why is there not more commentary about the fate of seniors under obamacare? That should be the subject of a national ad campaign and ...
blog.heritage.org

7. Poll: Majority says repeal ObamaCare, especially among seniors ...
Apr 5, 2010 ... Fifty-four percent of Americans want ObamaCare repealed, Rasmussen reports. Moreover, the trend is moving in the wrong direction for ...
www.washingtonexaminer.com

8. Obamacare: Why Seniors Protest The Public Option (health care ...
Aug 22, 2009.."Some would say seniors are misinformed or even brainwashed by cable news. After all, Medicare doesn't ration care, neither does it have a ...
www.city-daily, Politics and Other Controversies

9. The Strata-Sphere » Obamacare Broke Medicare Part D – Seniors ...
Tweets that mention The Strata-Sphere » Obamacare Broke Medicare Part D – Seniors Losing Coverage -- Topsy.com on 27 Mar 2010 at 9:44 am ...
strata-sphere.com/blog

10. » Report: ObamaCare Would Reduce Care For Seniors - Big Government Nov 15, 2009 This post was mentioned on Twitter by biggovt: Report: ObamaCare

Conclusion

This google doodle is a small sampling. It merely reflects 10 of the 2004 articles devoted to seniors and Obamacare that rose to the top using Google’s formula for listing widely read articles.

A doodle does not make a oodle, as in saving oodles and oodles of money on Medicare. But it worth noting that 50% of the money spent on health care goes to seniors and that is where oodles of money will be saved.