Looks like Ron Wyden is pretty lonely after teaming up with Paul Ryan on Medicare
(Ron Wyden: Yuri Gripas/Reuters, Paul Ryan: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
The White House
rejects the Ryan-Wyden plan, saying it risks allowing Medicare to "whither on the vine" and "would end Medicare as we know it for millions of seniors":
"We are concerned that Wyden-Ryan, like Congressman Ryan’s earlier proposal, would undermine, rather than strengthen, Medicare," said White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer. "The Wyden-Ryan scheme could, over time, cause the traditional Medicare program to “wither on the vine” because it would raise premiums, forcing many seniors to leave traditional Medicare and join private plans. And it would shift costs from the government to seniors. At the end of the day, this plan would end Medicare as we know it for millions of seniors. Wyden-Ryan is the wrong way to reform Medicare."
That's pretty strong language (not just "end Medicare as we know it" but also "wither on the vine" and "wrong way), and it echoes concerns from other Democrats. Rep. Pete Stark said it "ends Medicare as we know it, pure and simple" and Rep. Jim McDermott said he couldn't understand why Wyden was giving political "cover" to Paul Ryan by agreeing to turn Medicare into a voucher program.
There's no reason to think that turning Medicare into a voucher program—even if it's a voucher program with a public option—will save money over the current system. In fact, Ryan and Wyden rely on a trigger to reduce costs, just like the debt ceiling deal. Triggers didn't work with the debt ceiling and they won't work with Medicare. Why would we want to try them again ... especially as part of a plan that would get rid of Medicare as we know it?
Unlike the White House, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are both celebrating Ryan-Wyden, obviously hoping that Wyden's support for voucherizing Medicare gets them off the hook for supporting such an unpopular plan. But given the strong Democratic rejection of the proposal, that's not going to happen. And let's not forget: not only has virtually every House Republican voted for Ryan's original Medicare-repeal plan, both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich (belatedly, in the latter case) have said they would have signed it into law.