Debating Medicare on the Romney-Ryan Ticket

Now that the Republican presidential ticket has been announced the Romney campaign is going to have to address some of Paul Ryan’s baggage, namely Medicare.Paul Ryan plans to cut more than $700 billion from Medicare in his Path to Prosperity budget proposal. He would overturn the Medicare system so that it no longer foots the bills for seniors’ insurance, but instead allows each senior a fixed subsidy.With 50 million people on Medicare, the stakes are high and residents in Florida particularly might not take too well to having their Medicare benefits capped as Paul Ryan has suggested.Obama’s Affordable Care Act cuts $716 billion from Medicare. As the Medicare debate is taking off, the Romney campaign is trying to ride the same sentiment the Republicans used during the 2010 elections: Obama is taking seniors’ hard-earned Medicare money to pay for others’ healthcare. Scary.  Although Ryan and Romney are saying that they oppose the ACA and the $716 billion cut to Medicare, Romney has also said that he would be happy to see Ryan’s budget plan instituted, which includes a $700 billion dollar cut and significant Medicare reforms.The main difference between these spending cuts is that President Obama’s will cut Medicare funding to hospitals and healthcare organizations therefore placing the burden on the healthcare providers. Ryan’s plan would cap how much each senior can spend with a subsidy thus transferring the burden to beneficiaries.The Romney campaign is in a tricky position as it campaigns against the ACA and Obama’s plan for Medicare reform, yet remains unclear as to whether it will be adopting the entirety of Paul Ryan’s plan now that he is on the ticket.It seems that this election may in part be defined by Medicare and which candidate can convince America’s seniors of their plan. Before the Romney campaign has fully outlined their stance on Medicare and Ryan’s budget proposals, their negative commercials risk becoming hypocritical.