Obama TV ad says Romney would break ‘the Medicare Promise’
Obama TV ad says Romney would break the Medicare Promise
By Jonathan Easley - 08/25/12 10:41 AM ET
The Obama campaign continued its Medicare offensive in a new television ad set to run in five swing states on Saturday, claiming Mitt Romney would end the Medicare promise.
You work hard, pay in. Your Medicare benefits are guaranteed, the narrator says in the ad. But Mitt Romney would break that promise.
The ad spotlights President Obamas renewed focus on GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryans (R-Wis.) budget and Medicare reform proposal. While Ryan refers to his Medicare reform as a premium support system, Democrats have labeled it a voucher program that will hit seniors with out-of-pocket costs for top-line medical care.
Republicans in Congress have put forward a very different plan, Obama said in his weekly address from the White House on Saturday. 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 wouldnt keep up with costs. As a result, one plan would force seniors to pay an extra $6,400 a year for the same benefits they get now. And it would effectively end Medicare as we know it.
Mitt Romney would break that promise
replace your benefits with a voucher, the narrator continues. Insurance companies could just keep raising rates. Instead of a guarantee, seniors could pay $6,400 more a year. The AARP says the plan Mitt Romney supports undermines Medicare. Mitt Romney. An end to the Medicare promise.
The ad will run Saturday in Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia. Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams called the add "false" and "desperate."