Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) energized the crowd at the Republican National Convention on August 29 when he said the greatest threat to Medicare is the 2010 healthcare law that has become the hallmark legislation of the Obama administration.
"Obamacare comes to more than 2,000 pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees and fines that have no place in a free country," the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee told an audience that erupted in cheers and applause.
As chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan drafted budgets for fiscal years 2012 and 2013 that include plans to overhaul the nation's federal healthcare entitlement programs through a premium-support model for Medicare and block grant payments to states for Medicaid. Both of those ideas have become a part of the GOP's official party platform, which was released Tuesday.
Democrats have said the premium-support plan would increase costs to seniors and spell the end of the Medicare program. The issue promises to maintain a permanent place as a top domestic policy issue throughout the campaign until the November 6 election.
Jessica Zigmond writes for Modern Healthcare, a sister publication of Workforce Management. Comment below or email editors@workforce.com.
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