Mitt Romney’s advisers are orchestrating a four-day Republican National Convention that is not so much designed to make Americans fall in love with the nominee, but rather to fall in like with the idea of him as the nation’s leader and a uniquely qualified businessman who can fix the economy. – GOP convention’s focus: Romney the professional
COMPLIMENTS of the Obama campaign a comparison, which was inspired after Mitt Romney kicked off the white board competition. It came the same day he waded back into the tax debate. So, with the Republican Party almost one week away from their convention, where they’re going to sell their man as someone who can fix the economy, Romney finds himself finishing the first week with Paul Ryan as his running mate on defense on Medicare [Mitt Romney audio address at link].
This snippet from an ABC News report pretty much clarifies how the week ended for Romney:
But none of what the presumptive Republican nominee said yesterday in South Carolina really matters all that much. The moment Romney allowed the campaign to shift, almost fully, to the issue of Medicare — as opposed to the economy, unemployment and rising gas prices — was the moment he started losing the week.
Republicans contend that they’re getting out in front of the Medicare issue and having the debate on their terms. But why, with unemployment hovering above 8 percent, with prices at the pump rocketing to more than $4 a gallon throughout much of the country, does the GOP want to have this debate in the first place?
That says it all.
PAUL RYAN: “My mom has been on Medicare for over ten years and I won’t tell you exactly how many years over ten years she’s been on it. She plays tennis every week. She exercises every day. She planned her retirement around this promise that the government made her because she paid her payroll taxes into this program which she had this promise with. That’s a promise we have to keep. Here is what the President won’t tell you about his Medicare plan, about Obamacare. The President raids $716 billion from the Medicare program to pay for the Obamacare program. What’s more, in addition to that, he puts a board of 15 unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats in charge of Medicare who are required to cut Medicare in ways that will lead to denied care for current seniors. You want to know what Medicare is saying about this? From Medicare officials themselves: one out of six of our hospitals and our nursing homes will go out of business as a result of this. Four million seniors are projected to lose their Medicare advantage plans that they enjoy and they chose today under this Obamacare plan. What’s worse is the President’s campaign calls this an achievement. Do you think raiding Medicare to pay for Obamacare is achievement? Do you think that empowering a board of bureaucrats to cut Medicare [is] an achievement? Neither do I. Medicare should not be used as a piggy bank for Obamacare. Medicare should be the promise that is made to our current seniors period, end of story. Here is what Mitt Romney and I will do: We will end the raid of Medicare. We will restore the promise of this program and we will make sure that this board of bureaucrats will not mess with my mom’s health care or your mom’s health care.”
Ryan transcript via the Romney campaign, emphasis added.
They have to destroy the program to save it!
I guess they’re hoping they can muddy the waters enough to confuse voters. And Ryan’s plan actually cuts Medicare more than Obama does or close to the same way and then on top of all, turns it into a coupon program for the rest of us.
I have been in the individual insurance market and I know what a nightmare it can be to maneuver and understand exactly what these insurance companies are offering someone. One time we bought a BCBS of GA policy and the salesman said it paid for this or that and then when I called the company they told me no, the policy did not cover X. Then I called the salesman back and he said “well, we have a lot of new people on the phones”. It ended up that the “people on the phones” were right but guess what? I already bought the policy. And I have years of experience in the insurance business and I knew the guy was probably feeding me a line but I just could not quite get a line on it and went ahead with the policy. After that the policy then went up 15% annually for the premiums.
Now after all that rambling, how are most people going to be happy with a coupon program? How many “scam artists” out there are going to take those coupons and laugh all the way to the bank? I’m betting a lot of them. And even besides all this, the insurance company has an unsustainable business model where costs are going to be rising much faster than the Medicare model.
Unmitigated hogwash and intellectually so dishonest I don’t know how either of them can look themselves in the mirror.
This entire debate could have been avoided had Medicare-for-All passed the 111th Congress. What’s worse is that no one, then or now, disputes that Medicare-for-All is the least expensive way to deliver health insurance coverage to the Americans while bending downward long-term health costs. Obama, Pelosi, and Reid had the shot, a difficult but not impossible one, but refused to take the shot. If the Republicans have the shot they will take the shot then reload.
Facts always get in the way of telling a good story.
How true this is.
“Facts always get in the way of telling a good story.”
Yes they do. And the FACTS are that the repugnantklan/teabagger add is a flat out lie. And Romney has flat out lied about ACA and the plan he put in in Mass. And RYAN has flat out lied about damned near everything that has come outta his mouth.
Good grief, where to start? It’s Orwellian. The $716 million “cut” represents money we’ve been wasting on hospital readmissions five minutes after being released, redundant, unnecessary treatment and overpayments to Meducare Advantage. Great. Let’s keep throwing money away and make seniors bear a growing share of the burden. And while we’re at it, let’s leave Congress in charge of what’s covered since they are elected–it’s worked out so well. And anyone who thinks passing Medicare-for-All would have avoided
these problems is living in a fantasy world. Assuming we make it through all the arguments over what’s covered, remember, it’s only as good as the government running it. We live in a world where Romney and Ryan could get elected and Rick Scott DID get elected. Wonder what they would do with Medicare-for-All? Not to mention a Repub congress. OK…..I’m taking a deep breath now….
Wonder what they would do with Medicare-for-All? Not to mention a Repub congress. OK…..I’m taking a deep breath now….
This statement makes no sense. What are you saying; If Medicare-for-All was passed and Republicans won control of the WH and Congress, then, they would what – repeal it? Expand it? All is defined as 100%; so Republicans would reduce it, therefore, Democrats should never establish Medicare-for-All?
I’m saying it would not free us from the fight we are having now. Every time Repubs took over there would be a threat. There is a troubled history in the UK regarding the NHS and Thatcher. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try it. It just means it’s not a panacea or a silver bullet. There are other ways to make the system work better and cheaper than it does now. To wit: Germany, Switzerland, Japan, France, the list is rather long. None of these use a Medicare-for-All model. All have universal care that is affordable. All I’m saying is, there is more than one way to achieve this outcome and Medicare-for-All might not be the best way, despite the prevailing narrative on the left.
Great comments from everyone here who posted.
The health care economist and blogger, Maggie Mahar weighs in on this two year old post. She is the author of “Money-Driven Medicine” which I highly recommend to anyone who is serious about understanding US health care spending. She explains here why it’s a bad idea to dump 130 million more people on Medicare now, before it figures out how not to waste so much money and also why a single payer system does not cure the root of the problem. http://www.healthbeatblog.com/2010/08/if-reform-fails/