Republicans demand TV station yank ad claiming GOP plan would 'end Medicare'

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which oversees House races for the GOP, has written a sharply-worded letter demanding that a New Hampshire TV station yank an ad making the claim that the Republican plan would "end Medicare." Progressive Change Campaign Committee is airing the ad on WMUR against GOP Rep. Charlie Bass. The letter — which calls on Comcast Boston to take down the ad and is unusually detailed and emphatic — reflects how badly Republicans want a halt to these attacks.

Here’s the letter’s core argument:

The Budget Resolution as approved by the U.S. House of Representatives does NOT end Medicare. In fact, the Budget Resolution makes no changes at all to Medicare for current or near retirees, as none of the Medicare-related provisions in the Budget Resolution would even take effect until 2022. This fact makes the Advertisement especially misleading, as the woman featured in the Advertisement is a current Medicare beneficiary, and would not have her Medicare benefits ended, or even changed in any way, under the Budget Resolution...

Additionally, the Budget Resolution ensures that Americans aged 54 and younger will still have Medicare when they retire by implementing a new, sustainable model of Medicare. This new version of Medicare would actually REQUIRE insurance companies to GUARANTEE coverage for seniors.

The letter argues that the claim that Republicans would “end Medicare” is “blatantly and wholly false, and has been deliberately crafted to mislead and frighten voters.” It also cites a recent Politifact analysis that pronounced the assertion “highly misleading.”