Making Case for His Medicare Plan, Ryan Tells Personal Tale

Source: NY Times

THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Paul D. Ryan wove a story of generational obligation on Saturday to make the case for his controversial Medicare plan and personalize an issue that has the potential to be one of Mr. Ryan’s biggest liabilities in joining the Republican ticket.

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Mr. Romney, who has said he would sign the House budget as president, seemed to back away from the commitment this week when he emphasized that he would restore the Medicare cuts incorporated in the plan.

Mr. Ryan has appeared to be on both sides of the issue — voting for the cuts in his budget in March, then voting to repeal the health care law — but on Wednesday, Mr. Romney made clear that his running mate supported his own position. “Congressman Ryan has joined my campaign, and his campaign is my campaign now, and we’re on exactly the same page,” Mr. Romney said in an interview with CBS.

The $716 billion in cuts (or savings) come from reducing payments to providers over the next decade in an effort to control costs. They include lower payments to hospitals and nursing homes, and to Medicare Advantage.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/us/politics/in-defending-medicare-plan-ryan-speaks-on-caregiver-role.html

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I have to say that Romney/Ryan all over the map on the issue of Medicare with Ryan both defending his plan, but then distancing himself from it, by suggesting that nothing is being changed. Likewise, Romney is flip flopping by promising to sign the House budget as President, but then backing away from that promise.

Sadly, the MSM continues to generally given Romney/Ryan a free pass on their false charge that Democrats cut $700 billion Medicare when there has been no actual cut in benefits. Indeed, the irony is that after attacking the HCR for failing to cut costs, Republicans are attacking cost savings as cuts in benefits.