Romney, Ryan must be careful with Medicare rhetoric [link fixed]

For his attempts to reform Medicare, Ryan had already been targeted by Democrats and President Obama for wanting to end the program, and this line of attack has now gained new life. But the reality is that the most recent Ryan proposal builds on a bipartisan plan he worked out with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., last year. The latest version preserves the current Medicare system for those 55 and over, then gives everyone else the option of remaining in it. If they choose not to, they can take the money the government would have spent on them and choose among private plans. Payments to beneficiaries, known as “premium support,” would adjust so that poorer and sicker beneficiaries receive a higher subsidy than wealthier, healthier ones. …

In the past several days, Romney has attempted to turn the tables on Obama by noting that his own national health care law — Obamacare — cut Medicare significantly.

It’s true that Obamacare also cut Medicare by $700 billion. But while it’s tempting to attack Obama on this point, the danger is that it could turn the race into a finger-pointing match about who wants to cut Medicare more. This would reinforce the third-rail status of a program that’s desperately in need of an overhaul.