New Romney/Ryan ad plays offense on Medicare. Will that work?
Team Romney is taking the offensive on Medicare with a new ad that accuses President Obama of undermining the financial stability of the program.
The spot, titled 鈥�,鈥� begins with a still photo of a concerned-looking white-haired guy. 鈥淵ou paid into Medicare for years, every paycheck,鈥� says the narrator, while the camera moves in tighter on the shot.
Then there鈥檚 a quick cut to a photo of an empty wheelchair. 鈥淣ow when you need it, Obama has cut $716 billion from Medicare. Why? To pay for Obamacare,鈥� says the narrator. 鈥淪o now the money you paid for your guaranteed health care is going to a massive new government program that鈥檚 not for you.鈥�
Then a shot of a smiling Mitt Romney and his new running mate,听Paul Ryan, appears. 鈥淭he Romney/Ryan plan protects Medicare for today鈥檚 seniors and strengthens Medicare for the next generation,鈥� it concludes.
If nothing else, the quick release of this ad shows that the Romney campaign knows it has to move fast to blunt Mr. Obama鈥檚 charge that Congressman Ryan wants to end Medicare as we know it. Plus, it picks up on talking points that some proponents of Ryan鈥檚 approach have been urging the GOP to use.
The first of these is obvious: that $716 billion slice out of the program鈥檚 funds.
Romney and his campaign surrogates 鈥渘eed to point out that it was President Obama, not Romney, who cut $700 billion from Medicare to fund other priorities. Listening to [top Democrats] on the Sunday shows, you鈥檇 think it was the other way around,鈥� wrote American Enterprise Institute resident scholar Andrew Biggs听.
To this Democrats would reply, "Yes, the Affordable Care Act did make that reduction. But the money was cut from Medicare payments to hospitals, Medicaid prescription drugs, and reimbursements to private insurance plans under the pilot Medicare Advantage program. It did not come directly from benefits."
(They might also add that both Ryan鈥檚 and Obama鈥檚 Medicare budgets foresee the same general financial path for the system. Both foresee per-person benefits rising at the rate of increase of the gross domestic product (GDP), plus 0.5 percent. The difference is in how the respective budgets plan to get to that financial goal.)
The second point the ad makes is simple, though made in a subtle way: Current recipients would not be affected by the Romney/Ryan team鈥檚 proposed changes. That鈥檚 why the ad says the pair would 鈥減rotect Medicare for today鈥檚 seniors.鈥�
That鈥檚 true. The Ryan-produced budget passed by the House earlier this year draws the line at age 55. Those 55 or older would not see any change in the Medicare system. Those under 55 would participate in Ryan鈥檚 鈥減remium-support鈥� model for the giant government health-care system.
鈥淣o one over the age of 55 would be affected in any way,鈥� wrote Mr. Biggs.
But for people under age 55, Medicare would fundamentally change. 鈥淧remium support鈥� means 鈥渧oucher,鈥� in the view of Democrats. Beneficiaries would receive a fixed sum of money from the government to buy private insurance from a Medicare Exchange. (The traditional fee-for-service would be one of the exchange鈥檚 options, and the premium would be adjusted for different regional costs and the health of the beneficiary.)
Democrats charge that under this system seniors would inevitably end up paying an increasingly large percentage of their health-care costs. Ryan鈥檚 proponents proclaim that鈥檚 not true. Competition for customers between private plans on the exchanges would effectively keep prices down, they say.
鈥淥verall the Ryan budget represents real progress toward tackling the nation鈥檚 fiscal and economic challenges,鈥� says a Heritage Foundation on the subject.
But is the Romney campaign smart to confront the issue in such a direct manner? After all, many GOP operatives worry that focus on Medicare diverts attention from the issues on which Obama fares worst among voters, the overall state of the economy and jobs.
Plus, Democrats have long 鈥渙wned鈥� Medicare, in the sense that polls show voters trust them rather than Republicans when it comes to the big program鈥檚 fate, notes听George Washington University political scientist John Sides on the political blog.
Such stereotypes are remarkably persistent, according to Mr. Sides. Political scientists鈥� research shows that when candidates try to 鈥渢respass鈥� on the other party鈥檚 turf 鈥� when a Republican runs as pro-education, say, or a Democrat runs as tougher on defense 鈥� voters don鈥檛 really pay much attention.
Thus the Romney/Ryan ticket鈥檚 attempts to portray itself as the savior of Medicare 鈥渨ill be an uphill battle for the GOP,鈥� he concludes.
