GOP Platform Includes Repeal of Health Care Reform Law

Delegates at the 2012 Republican National Convention released the party’s official platform, which includes repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, while restoring Medicare payment cuts that the 2010 law authorized.

As expected, the Republican Party promises massive changes to the Medicare and Medicaid programs if former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) are elected president and vice president.

For Medicare, the platform calls for giving patients a choice between the current fee-for-service option in Medicare and a premium-support model with an income-adjusted contribution toward a health plan that the enrollee chooses. And while the platform did not specify an age, it did suggest changing that eligibility requirement for Medicare beneficiaries. “Without disadvantaging retirees or those nearing retirement, the age eligibility for Medicare must be made more realistic in terms of today’s longer life span.”