Paul Ryan says Medicare is going broke because of Obamacare. Nope. In a TV interview, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said, "What people don't realize is, because of Obamacare, Medicare is going broke." Our eyebrows went up when we saw this quote; it has been a bipartisan fallacy to claim that the old-age health program Medicare is going “broke.” First of all, Medicare is not going “broke.” There are four parts to Medicare, which covers 55 million people. When politicians say “broke,” they are only talking about one part of Medicare: Part A, which covers hospital visits, hospice care, nursing facilities and the like. Part A is financed mainly through payroll taxes. Current estimates show the trust fund for Part A will be depleted by 2028, because so many baby boomers are retiring. But the government could still cover 87 percent of estimated expenses in 2028 and 79 percent in 2040. So, yes, there would be a shortfall in Part A financing, but it doesn't mean Medicare would be bankrupt or “broke.” It’s strange that Ryan blames Obamacare for Medicare going “broke” (which it’s not). The Affordable Care Act actually strengthened the near-term outlook of the Part A trust fund, by raising additional revenues and cutting expenses. So it’s the opposite of what Ryan says happened. We awarded Four Pinocchios.  (giphy.com) Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone else who'd like it! If this e-mail was forwarded to you, sign up here for the weekly newsletter. Hear something fact-checkable? Send it here, we’ll check it out. President-Elect Donald Trump’s first two Pinocchio ratings This week was the first full week of President-Elect Donald Trump’s transition period. In his first sit-down TV interview as president-elect, Trump was asked, “What about the pledge to deport millions and millions of undocumented immigrants?" Trump answered that he will prioritize “probably 2 million, it could be even 3 million,” people who are criminals and in the country illegally. | 
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