Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan attacked President Barack Obama and defended his own Medicare plan during a speech at the Republican convention in Tampa.
The Republican candidate addressed the convention in Florida on Wednesday, arguing that the Obama administration had wasted federal stimulus funds and increased national debt. Ryan told delegates that he had never seen political opponents so silent about their record or so desperate to keep power.
Ryan, a member of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin who serves as chairman of the House Budget Committee, was selected by presidential nominee Mitt Romney as his vice presidential running mate for the 2012 election. Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, is challenging Obama, the 44th president of the United States, in the November presidential contest.
The convention took place in Tampa, Florida, a key swing state with a large population of senior citizens who rely on federal healthcare programs.
Attack on economic record and healthcare policies
During his address, Ryan launched a direct assault on the economic achievements of the Obama administration. He said President Obama received all the stimulus spending he requested, but claimed the money was borrowed, spent and wasted, leaving American taxpayers with accumulating debt.
Ryan focused heavily on Medicare, the federal health insurance program established more than 40 years ago under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act in 1965 to provide healthcare coverage for older Americans aged 65 and over.
Addressing the delegates, Ryan defended the Republican Medicare reform plan against criticism from Democrats, who have described the proposal as a voucher system. Ryan pointed out that President Obama took $716 billion from Medicare to help fund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the healthcare reform legislation signed into law by Obama in March 2010. Ryan argued that the law and its reduction of Medicare receipts represents the largest threat facing the program.
The clash over Medicare reform
The debate between the two political parties over healthcare spending has intensified as the campaign progresses. In his weekly radio address on Saturday, President Obama criticized the Republican proposal, stating: "They want to turn Medicare into a voucher program. That means that instead of being guaranteed Medicare, seniors would get a voucher to buy insurance, but it wouldn't keep up with costs."
Supporters of the Republican proposal contend that Obama's description is inaccurate, noting that the word voucher does not appear in the Republican plan. The proposed changes would only apply to future retirees beginning in 2023, while existing beneficiaries would remain unaffected. Future seniors would retain the choice to remain in traditional Medicare or select from alternative coverage options.
Both parties acknowledge that Medicare faces severe financial strain. New estimates released last week by the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan federal agency that provides economic analysis to Congress, increased projected Medicare spending by $136 billion over the next decade. Since the establishment of Medicare in 1965, spending projections have consistently increased.
Understanding the premium support model
The reform proposal championed by Ryan was adopted by House Republicans last spring as part of their budget resolution. Details of the budget resolution and Medicare proposals remain available on the official website of the House Budget Committee.
Under the Republican proposal, Medicare would transition to a system known as premium support rather than a traditional voucher program. In a standard voucher system, beneficiaries receive a fixed sum of money to purchase goods or services, such as education, groceries or health insurance, at any permitted provider. Critics of voucher systems express concern that older citizens might select inadequate plans or face exploitation by private insurance companies.
By contrast, the premium support model is structured after the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, a government system that offers managed health insurance plans to federal employees and retirees. Under Ryan's plan, seniors retiring in 2023 or later would choose from a selection of government-approved, competing comprehensive health insurance plans at varying price points and service levels, including traditional fee-for-service Medicare.
Cost controls and future prospects
Unlike food stamp programs where recipients can shop at any retail store, seniors under the premium support model could only choose from plans pre-approved by the federal government. The level of government funding provided to each senior would be pegged to the second least-expensive approved plan or traditional Medicare, whichever amount is lower.
Proponents of premium support argue that introducing market competition among approved insurers will drive down healthcare costs. In Washington D.C., where federal workers participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, insurance companies compete vigorously during open enrollment season through television, radio and bus advertisements.
Ryan asserted that Americans must stop spending money that the country does not have, emphasizing that alternatives are required to prevent federal programs from facing bankruptcy. Regardless of the outcome of the November presidential election, Ryan maintained that the nation cannot avoid reforming Medicare, comparing the situation to European nations currently facing necessary reforms to their own health and pension systems.
