Ryan’s primary criticism of Pres. Obama’s policy regarding Medicare has been the trimming of $716 billion from Medicare funding.
According to the Romney-Ryan camp, the government lacked money to implement Obamacare reforms and, as a result, dipped into Medicare funding to make up the shortfall.
“The planners in Washington didn’t have enough money. They needed more,” said Ryan. “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.”
This was precisely the position Presidential candidate Romney picked up during the first televised debate. “The idea of cutting $716 billion from Medicare to be able to balance the additional cost of Obamacare is in my opinion a mistake,” said Romney when the topic of Medicare came up during the debate.
Romney went on to say, “We have 4 million people on Medicare Advantage that will lose Medicare Advantage because of those $716 billion in cuts. I can’t understand how you can cut Medicare $716 for current recipients of Medicare.”
The President countered by declaring that his cuts to Medicare would have no adverse effect on seniors currently receiving Medicare services.
According to the President, the cuts now in place—which he agreed totaled $716 billion—were the result of “no longer overpaying insurance companies” and “making sure we weren’t overpaying providers.” As a result of the cuts, according to the President, “We were actually able to lower prescription drug costs for seniors by an average of $600, and we were also able to make a significant dent in providing them the kind of preventive care that will ultimately save money throughout the system.”
In response to the President’s declaration that medical service providers and not Medicare recipients will bear the burden of funding cuts, Romney offered a rebuttal similar to the position thus far put forth during the campaign by his running mate Ryan. “Some 15 percent of hospitals and nursing homes say they won’t take any more Medicare patients,” said Romney. “We also have 50 percent of doctors who say they won’t take Medicare patients.”
Suggesting that the Obama cuts to Medicare may signal the end for Medicare as far as future—though not current—retirees are concerned, Romney declared, “We have to make sure this program is there for the long term.” Romney made a point during the debate of highlighting his commitment to preserving Medicare benefits for both current and future retirees.
The President, however, painted Romney’s vision of Medicare as something radically different from what Medicare has been from its inception up to the present. “The essence of the (Romney) plan,” said the President, “is that it would turn Medicare into a voucher program.”