Aug 16 2012
Florida's 29 electoral votes appear to be among the most sought-after prizes as both campaigns craft their Medicare messages to woo the state's older voters.
The Hill: Obama Camp: Ryan's Medicare Plan A 'Game Changer' In Florida
President Obama's campaign says vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's Medicare plan is a "game changer" in the battle for Florida's 29 electoral votes. In a memo circulated Tuesday, the Obama campaign said Ryan's plans for Medicare "have the potential to immediately erode" the polling advantage that Mitt Romney has with seniors in the critical swing state. The Obama campaign document cited two recent polls that show Romney leading Obama among older Florida voters, and noted that CNN's polling director, Keating Holland, found in 2011 that 74 percent of senior citizens opposed Ryan's plans for Medicare (Viebeck, 8/14).
NPR: Will Florida Seniors Accept Ryan's Medicare Vision?
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's choice of Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate may help energize support from conservative voters who like his tough approach to overhauling the federal budget. But there's a risk that Ryan may turn off an important voting bloc: senior citizens (Allen, 8/14).
Modern Healthcare: Exclusive Interview: Rep. Paul Ryan Discusses Need For 'Market-Based' Health Reform
In the interview (before he was chosen by Romney), Ryan emphasized that premium support wasn't only his idea or a Republican idea. He pointed out that he proposed last year's Medicare-reform plan jointly with Oregon Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden. ... Ryan acknowledged that the idea takes some getting used to and said he knew that Congress would not pass last year's proposal. "What Ron Wyden and I tried to do was to plant the seeds of a bipartisan consensus," Ryan said. "We knew we weren't going to pass it because of the politics. We did this together to get the consensus-building started" (Robeznieks, 8/14).
ABCNews: Fact-Check: Obama's Attack Ad On Romney-Ryan Medicare Overhaul
The Obama campaign wasted no time before rolling out an attack ad featuring Floridian seniors voicing concerns about how Medicare cuts under Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate Rep. Paul Ryan will affect them. But the ads raise questions about whether the Republican duo will really be "ending Medicare care as we know it" and increasing "seniors' health costs by $6,350 a year" (Lupkin, 8/15).
 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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