A new study found that health care costs would rise for future Medicare recipients under Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's plan. President Barack Obama will focus on the study's numbers as he campaigns for reelection in Florida.<\/p>\n
President Barack Obama is drawing new attention to Medicare in the all-important battleground of Florida, taking on his Republican challenger Mitt Romney on an issue that has been more favorable to Democrats. <\/p>\n
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Campaigning for a second day in Florida, where older voters and workers approaching retirement hold sway, Obama on Sunday was expected to highlight a study by a Democratic leaning group that concluded that on average a man or woman retiring at age 65 in 2023, would have to pay $59,500 more for health care over the length of their retirement under Romney's plan. <\/p>\n
The numbers are even higher for younger Americans who retire later, the study found. A person who qualifies for Medicare n 2030 today's 48-year-old would see an increase of $124,600 in Medicare costs over their retirement period. <\/p>\n
While Romney's changes to Medicare would affect future retirees, the study also said that Romney's plan to get rid of Obama's health care law could raise health care costs in retirement by $11,000 for the average person who is 65 years old today by reinstating limits on prescription drug coverage. <\/p>\n
The study was conducted by David Cutler, a Harvard professor and health policy expert who served in the Clinton administration and was Obama's top health care adviser during the 2008 presidential campaign. Cutler conducted the study for the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund. <\/p>\n
A senior administration official said Obama would draw attention to the study on Sunday as part of an overarching economic message as he takes his two-day Florida bus tour to Melbourne and West Palm Beach on Florida's Atlantic Coast. <\/p>\n
Romney would seek to contain Medicare costs by giving retirees voucher-like government payments that they could use to either buy regular Medicare or private health insurance. But Cutler says older Americans would have to pay more out of pocket to cover the rising costs of health care. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Obama spotlights new Medicare study in the Sunshine State<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A new study found that health care costs would rise for future Medicare recipients under Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's plan. President Barack Obama will focus on the study's numbers as he campaigns for reelection in Florida. President Barack Obama is drawing new attention to Medicare in the all-important battleground of Florida, taking on his Republican challenger Mitt Romney on an issue that has been more favorable to Democrats. Continue reading