Trump Falsely Claims He’s Saving Medicare and Social Security, Which He Says Democrats Are ‘Killing’ - New York Times

Trump Falsely Claims He’s Saving Medicare and Social Security, Which He Says Democrats Are ‘Killing’
President Trump has accused Democrats of trying to “raid,” “rob” or “hurt” Medicare and Social Security, while suggesting he has made both programs “stronger.” Neither claim is true. 
Linda Qiu
By Linda Qiu
Sept. 7, 2018

WHAT WAS SAID

“They're going to hurt your Social Security so badly, and they're killing you on Medicare. Just remember that. I'm going to protect your Social Security. We're going to take care of your Social Security. We’re going to take care of your Social Security. Matt Rosendale is going to make sure we’re not touching your Social Security and your Medicare is only going one way. That’s stronger. They’re going to end up taking it away from you, and you won’t even know what happened.”

— President Trump, at a campaign rally on Thursday in Montana for Mr. Rosendale,  the Republican state auditor who is running for Senate.

“The Democrats will destroy Social Security. We’re saving Medicare. The Democrats want to destroy Medicare. If you look at what they’re doing, they’re going to destroy Medicare. And we will save it. We will keep it going. We’re making it stronger. We’re making Social Security stronger.”

— Mr. Trump, in remarks on Wednesday with the emir of Kuwait

THE FACTS

False.
The president is wrong on both claims: that Democrats plan to deplete Medicare and Social Security and that the two society safety nets are “stronger” under his administration.

First, not only has Mr. Trump failed to strengthen Medicare and Social Security, the financial outlook for both trusts has largely worsened. That’s at least partly the result of Mr. Trump’s tax law that is collecting fewer taxes from Americans and, in turn, investing less money into each program.

In June, the government projected that Medicare funds would be depleted by 2026, three years earlier than estimated in 2017. The report noted that less money will flow into the fund because of low wages and lower taxes.

The 2017 tax law also repealed the individual mandate that was required under the Affordable Care Act. That has led to Medicare needing to pay hospitals more money to reimburse costs of health care for a growing number of uninsured people.

Another government report, also released in June, projected that the Social Security’s fund for old-age benefits will run out in 2034. That is one year earlier than estimated in 2017, though the fund has enough money to pay for reduced Social Security benefits for 75 years.

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According to that report, the fund for retirees will suffer reduced income because of both the tax law and the Trump administration’s move to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. (The Social Security’s disability fund, however, gained three years of solvency.)

Second, there is no evidence that Democrats are proposing to cut Social Security, and Mr. Trump is distorting their positions on Medicare.

In its 2016 platform, the Democratic Party vowed to protect and expand Social Security. Legislation introduced by Democrats in the House and Senate has proposed to increase benefits — not “raid,” “destroy” or “hurt” the fund, as Mr. Trump claimed.

The conservative American Enterprise Institute criticized the Democratic proposal for imposing higher taxes, but also noted that it would “make a big dent” in the fund’s deficit.

Mr. Trump — echoed by other Republicans — has also argued that “Medicare for all” proposals, championed by left-leaning Democrats, would “rob seniors of their Medicare benefits.”

That would happen if the expansion would be funded solely by existing funds. However, the Democratic proposals call for new taxes to pay for expanded Medicare coverage and benefits.

Nothing in “Medicare for all” bills in the Senate or the House would reduce benefits or cut dollars from the program; in fact, current beneficiaries would receive more coverage for lower costs. For example, under legislation from Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, “Medicare for all” would also cover dental and vision care and hearing aids.

To be sure, it is reasonable to argue that “Medicare for all” would be too costly, or would reduce payments to doctors and hospitals.

“But the claim that it would damage Medicare is nonsense,” said Jonathan Oberlander, a professor of health policy and expert on Medicare at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“Ironically, Republicans are using this line of attack against ‘Medicare for all’ for the same reason that Democrats are framing their health reform vision as building on Medicare — Medicare is popular,” Mr. Oberlander said.

A spokesman for the Democratic National Committee called Mr. Trump’s statements “absurd” and accused the president of trying to cut Social Security and Medicare. The White House did not respond to requests for evidence for Mr. Trump’s claims.

Source: 2018 Annual Report from Social Security Trustees, 2018 Annual Report from Medicare Trustees, American Enterprise Institute, Daniel Wessel of the Democratic National Committee, Andrew Briggs of the American Enterprise Institute, Jonathan Oberlander, Gerald Friedman

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Linda Qiu is a fact-check reporter, based in Washington. She came to the Times in 2017 from the fact-checking service PolitiFact. @ylindaqiu