If Romney's Medicare reform is going to preserve "traditional medicare" then why wait 10 years?

[YewNork]

Romney and Ryan are emphasizing that their Medicare reforms are going to "preserve" traditional Medicare as an option. But, they also emphasize that their changes won't apply to people who are aged 55 and over.

If they're preserving traditional Medicare, why do they have to wait? People over age 55 would simply choose the traditional Medicare option, wouldn't they?

Or maybe when Romney says he's preserving it, he doesn't really mean that he's preserving it?

[Mr.Bill]

1. If you listened to the debate carefully, 55 became 60 on wednesday evening

As someone who is 59, I noticed this.

[Mr.Bill]

4. And last night,

Ryan pulled the age of 54 ,out of his ass, apparently. I wonder what the number will be today or tomorrow?

[julian09]

2. They want Medicare to compete with private insurance.

Younger and healthier will go with private ins and more expensive clients and less healthy will stay with medicare and eventually they will bankrupt medicare and private ins will have them all.

[CTyankee]

6. Yep, this thing has been carefully thought out by RW think tanks...

[moobu2]

3. Their plan is a recipe for undoing the social safety net.

Wrapped in terms like freedom and choice.

[Justice]

5. Then Ryan would say, for "people my age" (so misleading, as Ryan is 42)

[andym]

7. Their plan calls for the real Medicare to be reduced to the level of the worst plan on the "market"

in order to get people to "voluntarily" choose the vouchers. I really do not want them to have a chance to push this through....