[h=3]By JANET HOOK[/h]Paul Ryan, heading into a meeting of senior citizens and their advocates Friday in New Orleans, will take on the politically risky task of defending Republican plans to overhaul Medicare.
In a speech to the powerful senior-citizens lobby AARP, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's running mate will contrast his proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher-like program for people now younger than 55 years old with President Barack Obama's health-care law. Among other things, Mr. Obama's law calls for an independent panel to control health-care costs.
"Now, in order to save Medicare for future generations, we propose putting 50 million seniors, not 15 unaccountable bureaucrats, in charge of their own health-care decision,'' he will say, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks.
Mr. Ryan plans to bring his mother, Betty Douglas, a Medicare beneficiary, with him to the conference.
Mr. Obama is also addressing the group Friday, via satellite.
Mr. Ryan will continue the Romney campaign's focus on attacking the current health-care law and criticize it for curbing the growth of Medicare by $716 billion over ten years.
"The first step to a stronger Medicare is to repeal Obamacare," he plans to say. And he will describe the Romney plan to overhaul and shore up the financially shaky program as a "financial support system."
The Romney-Ryan plan calls for gradually replacing Medicare's system of guaranteed benefits with payments to the elderly that could be used to buy private insurance or traditional Medicare. Critics say the payments wouldn't keep pace with rising health-care costs and would force the elderly to accept fewer benefits, higher costs or both. A new Obama television ad spotlights that argument.
Mr. Ryan plans to try to allay such concerns and say that the program would be improved with the introduction of more market forces.
"This financial support system is designed to guarantee that seniors can always afford Medicare coverage—no exceptions. And if a senior wants to choose the traditional Medicare plan, then she will have that right," he plans to say. The idea "is to force insurance companies to compete against each other to better serve seniors, with more help for the poor and the sick—and less help for the wealthy."
Write to Janet Hook at [email protected]
In a speech to the powerful senior-citizens lobby AARP, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's running mate will contrast his proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher-like program for people now younger than 55 years old with President Barack Obama's health-care law. Among other things, Mr. Obama's law calls for an independent panel to control health-care costs.
"Now, in order to save Medicare for future generations, we propose putting 50 million seniors, not 15 unaccountable bureaucrats, in charge of their own health-care decision,'' he will say, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks.
Mr. Ryan plans to bring his mother, Betty Douglas, a Medicare beneficiary, with him to the conference.
Mr. Obama is also addressing the group Friday, via satellite.
Mr. Ryan will continue the Romney campaign's focus on attacking the current health-care law and criticize it for curbing the growth of Medicare by $716 billion over ten years.
"The first step to a stronger Medicare is to repeal Obamacare," he plans to say. And he will describe the Romney plan to overhaul and shore up the financially shaky program as a "financial support system."
The Romney-Ryan plan calls for gradually replacing Medicare's system of guaranteed benefits with payments to the elderly that could be used to buy private insurance or traditional Medicare. Critics say the payments wouldn't keep pace with rising health-care costs and would force the elderly to accept fewer benefits, higher costs or both. A new Obama television ad spotlights that argument.
Mr. Ryan plans to try to allay such concerns and say that the program would be improved with the introduction of more market forces.
"This financial support system is designed to guarantee that seniors can always afford Medicare coverage—no exceptions. And if a senior wants to choose the traditional Medicare plan, then she will have that right," he plans to say. The idea "is to force insurance companies to compete against each other to better serve seniors, with more help for the poor and the sick—and less help for the wealthy."
Write to Janet Hook at [email protected]