I Refuse to Believe that the Majority of Americans Want to Do Away With Medicare

[BlueStreak]

14. Yes. He said it in the second debate and Obama didn't challenge it at all.

He put it in his usual double-talk, saying that for people under 56, we'll give then an "option" that is necessary in order to "save Medicare for future generations".

That is why Obama had to challenge him because his plan is clearly to kill it, but he is hiding behind double-talk.

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Correction it was in the first debate. See the full transcript here
http://www.scribd.com/doc/109296847/2012-Presidential-Debate-Transcript

Well, Jim, our seniors depend on these programs, and I know anytime we talk about entitlements,people become concerned that something's going to happen that's going to change their life for the worse.21 / 46

And the answer is neither the president nor I are proposing any changes for any current retirees or near retirees,either to Social Security or Medicare. So if you're 60 or around 60 or older, you don't need to listen any further.But for younger people, we need to talk about what changes are going to be occurring.

...

for people coming along that are young, what I do to make sure that we can keep Medicare in place for them is to allow them either to choose the current Medicare program or a private plan. Their choice.They get to choose -- and they'll have at least two plans that will be entirely at no cost to them. So they don't have to pay additional money, no additional $6,000. That's not going to happen. They'll have at least two plans.

And by the way, if the government can be as efficient as the private sector and offer premiums that areas low as the private sector, people will be happy to get traditional Medicare or they'll be able to get a private plan.I know my own view is I'd rather have a private plan. I'd just assume not have the government telling me what kind of health care I get. I'd rather be able to have an insurance company. If I don't like them, I can get rid of them and find a different insurance company. But people make their own choice.24 / 46

The other thing we have to do to save Medicare? We have to have the benefits high for those that are low income,but for higher income people, we're going to have to lower some of the benefits. We have to make sure this program is there for the long term. That's the plan that I've put forward.And, by the way the idea came not even from Paul Ryan or -- or Senator Wyden, who's the co-author of the bill with-- with Paul Ryan in the Senate, but also it came from Bill -- Bill Clinton's chief of staff. This is an idea that's been around a long time, which is saying, hey, let's see if we can't get competition into the Medicare world so that people can get the choice of different plans at lower cost, better quality. I believe in competition

And on Romney's website
http://www.mittromney.com/issues/medicare

Medicare is reformed as a premium support system, meaning that existing spending is repackaged as a fixed-amount benefit to each senior that he or she can use to purchase an insurance plan

And the Republican platform goes into considerable detail explaining how they plan to kill Medicare. See this article
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/republican-party-platform-medicare.php