(Newser)
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Paul Ryan's coupon-based Medicare plan would result in higher costs for six in 10 beneficiaries for the same service they're getting now—and Floridians would suffer the greatest financial toll, a yearlong, nonpartisan study finds. The Kaiser Family Foundation says that Medicare beneficiaries in Florida would pay, on average, more than $200 extra per month on the Ryan plan, the AP reports. In Miami-Dade County, which has a large population of beneficiaries, most recipients would pay almost an extra $500 per month; 99% of Palm Beach County plans would rise $370 a month, the Raw Story reports.
Seniors nationwide would pay an average of an extra $720 a year, the Kaiser report finds. Both campaigns have already issued reactions to the study. The Obama campaign says the study doesn't even tell the full story, since it only looks at "a single year" and "ignores the role of adverse selection against traditional Medicare—which would drive costs higher." A Romney rep notes that the study doesn't look at "the Romney-Ryan plan"—distinct from the Ryan plan, though Mitt Romney has called the two "the same, if not identical." The Romney-Ryan plan would mean "no increase in out-of-pocket costs from today’s Medicare," the spokeswoman adds.
