Colorado & Denver News

by Raj Chohan
DENVER (CBS4) ― Reality Check is the name of a new set of special reports by CBS4 reporter Raj Chohan.

In the Aug. 24 Reality Check, Chohan analyzed the new "Both Ways Bob" attack ads against Bob Beauprez. His complete notes on the report lie below.

Reporter notes and sources:

The new attack ads targeting republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez come from a 527 group called Citizens for Progress. The number 527 refers to the section of IRS code that makes these tax exempt political groups possible.

For more on what a 527 is, check out this explanation by opensecrets.org:

527 Group - A tax-exempt group organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code to raise money for political activities including voter mobilization efforts, issue advocacy and the like. Currently, the FEC only requires a 527 group to file regular disclosure reports if it is a political party or political action committee (PAC) that engages in either activities expressly advocating the election or defeat of a federal candidate, or in electioneering communications. Otherwise, it must file either with the government of the state in which it is located or the Internal Revenue Service. Many 527s run by special interest groups raise unlimited "soft money," which they use for voter mobilization and certain types of issue advocacy, but not for efforts that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a federal candidate or amount to electioneering communications.

For more on Citizens for Progress, a group funded by Democrat backers and influential union interests, check out these tax documents from the IRS website.

Citizens For Progress

Internal Revenue Service

Here's the first ad we looked at by Citizens for Progress attacking Bob Beauprez:

AD STARTS:

In Colorado Bob Beauprez says he's for seniors. But in Washington Congressman Beauprez voted to make seniors pay more for their health care, and denied nursing home care to seniors. No wonder they call him both ways Bob.

COMMENTARY:

The ad refers to S.1932, a budget measure that targeted a number of areas including Medicaid and Medicare spending. The claim that seniors pay more as a result of this law is true in some cases. It allows states more flexibility in hiking the premiums and co-pays for Medicaid recipients. It also requires higher income Medicare patients to share more of the cost of their coverage. Furthermore, people who have home equity of more than five hundred thousand dollars are no longer eligible for Medicaid nursing home benefits. Lawmakers who supported this part of the measure contend it was fiscally responsible legislation. (source: interview with John Marshall, from Beauprez campaign). Supporters of the package point out that Medicaid was meant for those who are truly needy, not for those who have significant assets in their home equity. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the Medicaid/Medicare portion of the bill would save approximately 11 billion dollars over five years. That savings amounts to a reduction in the rate of growth of the Medicare Medicaid entitlement programs. There's a lot more explanation and detail to consider. For more on the law, check out the Library of Congress Web site where you can use the Thomas search engine to read the language of S.1932.

Read the Congressional Budget Office studied S.1932.

Before S.1932 passed into law, the legislative arm of the AARP lobbied vigorously against the measure. Here is a letter sent by the AARP to the Senate Majority Leader:

December 19, 2005
The Honorable Bill Frist
Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Majority Leader Frist:
AARP strongly opposes the budget reconciliation conference agreement scheduled to come before the Senate for a vote today. Rather than reflecting the rational provisions of the Senate reconciliation bill, the final conference agreement is irresponsible policy.
The final conference agreement does not ask for shared sacrifice to achieve budgetary savings. Rather it protects the pharmaceutical industry, the managed care industry, and other providers at the expense of low-income Medicaid beneficiaries and Medicare beneficiaries who will foot the bill. AARP members and your other constituents will question why members of the Senate would vote for a bill that would:
Make it harder for Americans needing long-term care to qualify for Medicaid;
Force some Americans to forfeit their homes in order to pay for long-term care services;
Require all Medicare Part B beneficiaries to pay higher premiums;
Reopen the MMA, not to make improvements in the new drug benefit, but to require those with more income to pay higher Part B premiums sooner; and
Force low-income Medicaid recipients to pay more for their care - and if they cannot afford to do so - to potentially be denied care entirely.
The conference agreement systematically undermines the critical protections built into both the Medicaid and Medicare programs. If the conference agreement becomes law, then over the course of the next few weeks and months we will make sure that our members across the country fully understand the impact of this conference agreement on them and on their families.

Sincerely,

William D. Novelli

Additional Resources

• Read Medical News Today, Kaiser Network, and Hill News for commentaries from the health care community on S.1932.
  

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