Concerning Medicare, Ryan accused the President of failing to preserve the health care of seniors through the program established and administered by the federal government in 1965.
In Ryan’s words, “the biggest, coldest power play of all in Obamacare came at the expense of the elderly. You see, even with all the hidden taxes to pay for the health care takeover, even with the new law and new taxes on nearly a million small businesses, the planners in Washington didn’t have enough money. They needed more. They needed hundreds of billions more, so they just took it all away from Medicare. $716 billion funneled out of Medicare by Pres. Obama. An obligation we have to our parents and grandparents is being sacrificed all to pay for a new entitlement we didn’t even ask for.”
There are opposing views as to what that $716 billion reduction in Medicare funding actually means.
Democrats are quick to point out that reductions in Medicare funding will be targeted to health care providers and not Medicare recipients. But others don’t see much difference as far as that goes.
According to Forbes contributor Avik Roy, $415 billion $716 billion reduction consists of cuts in reimbursement to doctors, hospitals, and nursing homes for services provided to Medicare enrollees. In Roy’s words, “This significant reduction in fees is driving many doctors to stop accepting new Medicare patients, making it harder for seniors to gain access to needed care.”
This seems to be the view of many in the Republican Party, who argue that the Affordable Health Care Act will limit Medicare recipients’ health care options and opportunities and leave them footing more of their health care bill. But Democrats and others point out that Ryan himself, while serving as the House Budget Committee Chairman, has over the years been a major proponent of trimming Medicare.
Legitimate differences and campaign rhetoric aside, both the DNC and the RNC ended with general agreement between the parties that funding cuts are necessary if Medicare is to be preserved.
Not only that, but some observers see significant similarity in the two parties’ approaches to trimming Medicare funding.
According to Kaiser Health News, “President Barack Obama and GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan are pushing the same target rate for controlling federal spending on Medicare. Each would set it at half a percentage point higher than the growth rate of the economy—the gross domestic product—after a phase-in period.”
But while the Affordable Health Care Act and the Democratic approach in general suggest greater government involvement in Medicare, the Republican view of Medicare seems to favor a looser government rein on Medicare and greater reliance on the free enterprise system.