GOP platform calls for turning Medicare into voucher-like program, repealing Obamacare

The Republican Party's platform calls for a ban on all abortions, reshaping Medicare and deep cuts to Medicaid, if Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are elected in November.

The New York Times: Platform's Sharp Turn To Right Has Conservatives Cheering
The new platform -; with its call to reshape Medicare to give fixed amounts of money to future beneficiaries so they can buy their own coverage, its tough stance on illegal immigration and its many calls to shrink the size and scope of government -; shows just how far rightward the party has shifted in both tone and substance in the decades since it adopted the 1980 platform, which was considered a triumph for conservatives at the time (Cooper, 8/28).

The Hill: GOP Platform Embraces Ryan Plans For Medicare, Medicaid
The Republican Party's official platform calls for deep cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, in keeping with controversial proposals from vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. The party platform, adopted Tuesday at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., further ties the party to Ryan's sweeping healthcare reforms, particularly his plans for Medicare. The platform says Medicare should be converted into a partially privatized system in which seniors would choose between the existing Medicare program or a subsidy to help buy private insurance. Ryan proposed a similar framework in his budget proposal this year after crafting a version last year that would not have preserved the existing program as an option (Baker, 8/28).

The Associated Press: GOP OKs Platform Barring Abortions, Gay Marriage
Republicans emphatically approved a toughly worded party platform at their national convention Tuesday that would ban all abortions and gay marriages, reshape Medicare into a voucher-like program and cut taxes to energize the economy and create jobs. The platform pledges to move both Medicare and Medicaid away from "the current unsustainable defined-benefit entitlement model to a fiscally sound defined-contribution model." (Elliot and Fram, 8/28)

Modern Healthcare: GOP Platform Includes Repeal Of Healthcare Reform Law
Delegates at the 2012 Republican National Convention released the party's official platform, which includes repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, while restoring Medicare payment cuts that the 2010 law authorized. As expected, the Republican Party promises massive changes to the Medicare and Medicaid programs if former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) are elected president and vice president (Zigmond, 8/28).