NORTH CANTON, Ohio, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Republican vice
presidential candidate Paul Ryan acknowledged on Thursday that
his proposed healthcare reforms rely on many of the same
spending reductions for which he has criticized President Barack
Obama, something that could undercut a central message of the
Republican campaign.
Ryan and Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney,
charge that Obama's 2010 health law would weaken the popular
Medicare health plan for the elderly by reducing its costs by
$716 billion over the coming 10 years.
On Thursday, Ryan acknowledged that his own budget plan
would keep the savings included in Obama's Affordable Care Act
even as it would do away with the law itself.
"We voted to repeal Obamacare repeatedly, including those
cuts," he told reporters at a hot dog stand in Ohio.
"When you repeal all of Obamacare what you end up doing is
that repeals (those savings) as well. In our budget we've
restored a lot of that," he said, referring to the savings.
Ryan's statement underlines the fact that his own budget
plan, which passed the House of Representatives this spring,
envisions spending $205 billion less on Medicare than Obama
would during that time period.
Democratic Representative Chris Van Hollen, an Obama ally,
told reporters Ryan would not use those savings to improve
health coverage.
"While the Ryan plan took the savings, they did not plow any
of the money back into strengthening Medicare benefits and in
fact they used the money as part of their plan for additional
tax cuts for the very wealthy," Van Hollen said on a conference
call.
Medicare has moved front and center in the presidential race
since Romney picked Ryan to be his running mate on Saturday.
Ryan has galvanized conservatives with his plan to gradually
convert Medicare's fee-for-service approach into a system that
relies on private insurers to keep costs down.
Under Ryan's plan, retirees would get a set amount of money
each year to purchase health insurance on the private market or
to pay for traditional Medicare.
The amount of the subsidy would grow at a slower rate than
the projected rate of medical inflation. The nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office says that could force retirees to
pay more out-of-pocket costs for their medical care.
The plan would only apply to people younger than 55.
Public reception of the plan has been mixed, with older
voters most skeptical. Obama and his fellow Democrats charge
that Ryan's approach would "end Medicare as we know it."
OBAMA PLAN UNPOPULAR TOO
Romney and Ryan are banking on the fact that voters, who go
to the polls Nov. 6, are also unenthusiastic about Obama's
health law.
Obama's planned health savings would come largely through
reduced payments to hospitals and insurers, and patient benefits
would not be affected. The savings would be used to expand
health coverage to 30 million lower-income Americans.
Romney said that too much cost squeezing could prompt health
care providers to drop out of the program, leaving Medicare
recipients with fewer treatment options. His campaign said on
Tuesday it would "restore the funding to Medicare."
"As the seniors in America understand what the President's
plan is doing to Medicare, they're going to find it
unacceptable," Romney told a news conference in Greer, South
Carolina on Thursday.
As a congressman, Ryan was known for his detailed
presentations about the merits of his plan and the perils of
rising health costs. But the Romney campaign so far has avoided
discussing details of the plan on the campaign trail.
"Romney wants Ryan to be the Coke Zero of his campaign: All
the bold taste, but none of the calories of a detailed policy
discussion of entitlements," said Dante Scala, a political
analyst at the University of New Hampshire.
One Republican strategist with knowledge of the campaign's
thinking said that its cautious approach was less due to Ryan's
abilities than a desire to avoid a repeat of the disastrous
reception of the party's 2008 vice presidential candidate, Sarah
Palin.
"I think it's smart that he gains his footing, his traction
and his comfort level," the strategist said. "Frankly, I'm
pleased that they're erring on the side of caution as they tell
the country who he is."