WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Barack Obama used his presidential address this week to reiterate to Americans his commitment to keeping Medicare unchanged and his opposition to a Republican plan to institute a voucher program.
'As President, my goal has been to strengthen these programs now, and preserve them for future generations,' Obama said Saturday in his address.
'That's why, as part of the Affordable Care Act, we gave seniors deeper discounts on prescription drugs, and made sure preventive care like mammograms are free without a co-pay. We've extended the life of Medicare by almost a decade,' he added.
Obama also laid out his continued opposition to Republican plans to make Medicare Part D coverage a 'defined contribution' or voucher plan.
Also called a 'premium support model,' this type of plan mandates the government will contribute a pre-determined amount toward health coverage for individuals. However, the amount is not dictated by how much coverage might actually cost.
'That means that instead of being guaranteed Medicare, seniors would get a voucher to buy insurance, but it wouldn't keep up with costs,' the president continued, adding, 'it would effectively end Medicare as we know it.'
Likewise, the Republican plan will only increase voucher contributions in line with inflation. But since medical costs have risen faster than inflation rates in recent years, this means some seniors would see their insurance coverage become more and more costly.
This would lead some to not purchase insurance at all, the Congressional Budget Office said in a letter to now-Mitt Romney running mate Paul Ryan on April 5, 2011.
'I think our seniors deserve better. I'm willing to work with anyone to keep improving the current system, but I refuse to do anything that undermines the basic idea of Medicare as a guarantee for seniors who get sick,' the president added.
Medicare has rocketed to the forefront of the political debate in recent weeks, bolstered by Democrats' focus on cuts and changes proposed by Ryan during his time in Congress.
Although the economy continues to remain the number one issue on American voters minds, Medicare is inching up as well, and may determine voting decisions by some, especially those most effected by possible changes.
Since being named Romney's running mate, Ryan has publicly stepped back from his congressional stance on Medicare cuts, instead throwing his support behind the former Massachusetts governor's 'protect & strengthen Medicare' approach.
'Our solution to preserve, protect, and save Medicare does not affect your benefits. Let me repeat that. Our plan does not affect the benefits for people who are in or near retirement. It's a promise that was made and it's a promise that must be kept,' Ryan said at a campaign stop in Florida last week, standing alongside his mother.
'Medicare was there for our family, for my grandma, when we needed it then; and Medicare is there for my mom while she needs it now, and we have to keep that guarantee,' Ryan added.
However, a preview of the Republican convention platform leaked this week included Ryan's congressional plans to turn Medicare into a voucher program.
'In health care, as in any other sector of the economy, genuine competition is the best guarantee of better care at lower cost,' the platform read.
'While retaining the option of traditional Medicare in competition with private plans, we call for a transition to a premium-support model for Medicare, with an income-adjusted contribution toward a health plan of the enrollee's choice,' the platform added.
The platform also called for a raising of the retirement age over time to 'be made more realistic in terms of today's longer life span.'
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