The campaign of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan is running a robocall accusing President Barack Obama of "changing Medicare forever," according to audio obtained by ThinkProgress.
"Some think Obamacare is the same as free health care, but nothing is free," a voice says in the recorded message. "Obama is raiding $716 billion from Medicare, changing the program forever -- taxing wheel chairs and pacemakers, raising taxes on families making less than $120,000. Free health care comes at a very high price. The Romney-Ryan plan will restore Medicare funding, and protect and strengthen the program for the next generation."
The attack refers to the reduction of $716 billion in Medicare's rate of growth in the Affordable Care Act. According to Medicare actuaries, the cuts extend the life of the program's trust fund from 2016 to 2024. The reduction does not target beneficiaries, but rather cuts subsidies to private Medicare Advantage plans and payments to hospitals and other providers. Ryan also included those savings in his own budget proposal.
Both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have advocated turning Medicare into a quasi-voucher program, which would be a much more fundamental change to the program than those in the Affordable Care Act.
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