Gibbs: Ryan should ‘thank’ Obama for strengthening Medicare
Source: The Hill
By Meghashyam Mali - 08/19/12 09:26 AM ET
Senior Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs defended the administration’s record on Medicare from GOP attacks on Sunday, saying that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) should “thank President Obama” for strengthening the program.
During a campaign stop in The Villages, Florida Saturday, Ryan appeared with his mother, who is on Medicare, and continued hammering the administration for a $716 billion reduction in the program’s spending, claiming Obama “raided” Medicare to pay for his own healthcare reform bills.
Gibbs pushed back on those claims during an interview on Fox News Sunday. “If he wants to protect Medicare for his mother he should first of all thank President Obama for what he’s done over the past few years to extend the life of the Medicare trust fund, to help seniors with their prescription drug costs to help seniors get free preventive care. ” said Gibbs.
He said Obama had extended the life of the program “by over eight years.”
Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s selection of Ryan as his running mate has put Medicare in the election spotlight, with Democrats moving quickly to hit the House Budget Committee chairman on his proposals to shift the program to a subsidized private-insurance model.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/244261-gibbs-ryan-should-thank-obama-for-strengthening-medicare
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