Obama To Highlight Report Showing Rising Medicare Costs Under Romney; Rival Disputes

Source: National Journal

In what is shaping up as one of the presidential race's most fractious disputes, President Obama's campaign said on Sunday it will highlight a recent study showing that, under its Republican rivals' plan, someone who retires in 2030 can expect to pay an extra $125,000 over their lifetime for Medicare -- a finding that Mitt Romney's campaign immediately argued was inaccurate.

Obama is campaigning in Florida, a state where Medicare is an especially volatile political issue. The study that the president's campaign plans to spotlight -- according to an official in a media pool report -- is co-authored by Harvard economist David Cutler, an advisor to Obama during the last presidential campaign, and written for the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a liberal think tank.

Cutler's analysis -- based on Rep. Paul Ryan's latest budget -- found that people who turn 65 now would end up paying, in today's dollars, about $11,000 in extra retirement costs, while people who are still 54 now would pay an extra $59,500. Seniors who qualify for Medicare in 2030 would see an increase of $124,600.

"Gov. Romney and Rep. Ryan claim that no one over 55 will be affected by their health care plan," Cutler and his coauthors wrote. "This claim is false. Their plan would harm all seniors."

Read more: http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/obama-to-highlight-report-showing-rising-medicare-costs-under-romney-rival-disputes-20120909