Parties sparring over Medicare as Sen. Collins vows 'no' vote on Ryan budget

News outlets are covering the increasing politicization of Medicare.

The Washington Post: Republicans Facing Tough Questions Over Medicare Overhaul In Budget Plan
Anxiety is rising among some Republicans over the party's embrace of a plan to overhaul Medicare, with GOP lawmakers already starting to face tough questions on the issue at town hall meetings back in their districts. House leaders have scheduled a Tuesday conference call in which members are expected in part to discuss strategies for defending the vote they took this month on a budget that would transform the popular entitlement program as part of a plan to cut trillions in federal spending. ... The assault has taken some Republicans by surprise, prompting concerns that the party is ceding ground in a policy debate that GOP strategists already viewed as perilous (Wallsten, 4/22).

The Wall Street Journal: Both Sides Launch Ads on Medicare 
Attack ads on Medicare have begun popping up on radio in key congressional districts. And before the next election is in the books, people in both parties predict that many more voters will see exchange of fire over the Republican plan to revamp the health care program for seniors. This week, two Democratic groups launched radio ads and phone calls in the districts of more than 25 House Republicans. A GOP-leaning group, 60 Plus, responded with its own campaign of radio ads, direct mail and phone calls in most of the same districts (Meckler, 4/22). 

The Hill: Collins Is First GOP Senator To Oppose Ryan Budget Proposal
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.) said Friday that she will not support the 2012 budget passed by the House last week. "I don't happen to support Congressman Ryan's plan but at least he had the courage to put forth a plan to significantly reduce the debt," Collins said on "In the Arena" a program on WCSH 6, a local NBC affiliate in Portland, Maine. Collins is the first Republican senator to state publicly that she will not support the Ryan budget (Ryan, 4/22).

ABC News: Is Paul Ryan's Medicare Proposal Like Obama's Health Care Plan? 
President Obama has dubbed Rep. Paul Ryan's 2012 budget "fairly radical." The Republican congressman from Wisconsin has claimed the president's Affordable Care Act "is accelerating our country toward bankruptcy." Underneath the rhetoric, however, Ryan's plan to reform Medicare -- a central part of his 2012 proposal -- bears some glaring similarities to President Obama's health care plan. It calls for setting up exchanges for older Americans similar to those proposed in the Democrats' health care plan that were widely panned by Republicans, even rejected by state leaders such as Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (Khan, 4/22).

Politico: Orszag Slams Ryan Medicare Plan 
Former Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag charged Friday that Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan would accelerate the rate of medical cost growth, not slow it down, by dismantling Medicare. ... Supporters of the Ryan plan have argued that competition from a new private market for subsidized insurance for seniors would drive down costs. But Orszag said the Congressional Budget Office analysis found that whatever cost savings might come from this competition would be more than offset by increased administrative costs of private insurance plans and the loss of Medicare's negotiating power to secure lower prices (Feder, 4/22). 

Financial Times: Obama Seen As Failing On Economy
Even as he rubbed shoulders this week with the elite of Hollywood and Silicon Valley who will help bankroll his re-election campaign, the continuing struggles of ordinary Americans were not far from Barack Obama's mind. ... If Mr Obama can succeed in convincing those voters that the long-term deficit reduction plan proposed by Republicans would shift the burden of Medicare from the government to individual beneficiaries, possibly destroying the programme, he will have come a long way to bringing those voters back (Kirchgaessner, 4/22).