Note that all numbers are over 10 years.
The truth is at least $700B is needed (cost savings or increase spending) to keep Medicare solvent to 2023. Without it, Medicare goes insolvent in 2016.
Of course Ryan says his plan (moving eligibility age to 67) will not would take effect in 2023 and then only slowly (beginning in 2023, Ryan’s FY 2013 budget would “raise the eligibility age for Medicare — now 65 — by two months per year until it reaches age 67 in 2034.”). Ryan says this for political reasons of course - because he wants to tell near-seniors {those 55 -64} that they will not be affected.
So today on Fox News Ed Gillespie (Romney’s advisor) claims what cannot be true that . They cannot have both ways. Raising eligibility age right now would no doubt help fiscally but doing so when Ryan has said to would be too late.
Cost savings (like all other OECD countries are able to do with single payer systems of several varieties) well before 2023 are necessary as both Obama’s $716B and the earlier Ryan $700B realized.
Truth is Romney put his foot in his mouth by saying Obama’s plan would “rob” Medicare by $716B.
Maybe someone can explain this to me in a manner that upholds Romney’s integrity. Did Obama already “rob” Medicare as his statement on 12 Aug said?
