TALLAHASSEE, FL — Ron DeSantis has already made it clear that if he get’s to Washington, he’ll support massive changes to entitlement programs which would end Medicare as we know it. DeSantis has also praised Paul Ryan’s selection as VP, leaving little doubt that he’d vote to support Ryan’s controversial proposals and prioritize an extreme agenda which increases the cost of healthcare for seniors by thousands of dollars while providing  tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires instead of supporting middle class families or helping businesses create jobs. 

“Ron DeSantis has already made it clear that he supports the same policies of Paul Ryan which would hurt Florida’s middle class families and end Medicare as we know it,” said David Bergstein, spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party. “Republicans have shown time again that they are more interested in prioritizing an extreme agenda and giving tax breaks for billionaires and millionaires instead of making investments that will help businesses create jobs or grow our economy, and DeSantis is already proving to Florida’s middle class families that he would be part of this problem in Washington.” 

BACKGROUND:

Just like Ryan, Desantis supports massive changes to entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security. DeSantis: “I also think we need to structurally reform some of the entitlement programs” [Palm Coast Observer, 8/1/2012]  

Desantis called Ryan’s Selection as VP “inspired.” On August 11, Desantis tweeted “Inspired choice of @PaulRyanVP by @MittRomney.” [RonDesantisFL twitter, 8/11/12]   

Last Year, Ryan’s budget would have ended Medicare as we know it. Ryan’s 2011 budget, according to the Wall Street Journal, “would essentially end Medicare.” If enacted, this budget would begin affecting millions of seniors almost immediately by increasing the costs on prescription drugs and long-term care. For future beneficiaries, the plan will significantly increase out-of pocket costs for health care, which according to the Congressional Budget Office would more than double under the Republican Plan. [Wall Street Journal, 4/4/11; National Journal,6/2/11; CBO, 4/5/11; see also: Los Angeles Times, 4/7/11; Congressional Joint Economic Committee, 5/20/11]

The 2012 Ryan Budget Would Turn Medicare Into Voucher Program. Ryan’s budget would end Medicare’s guaranteed benefit, protects $40 billion in tax breaks for big oil, and provides people earning more than $1 million a year with an average tax cut of $265,000. The Tampa Bay Times wrote, “Floridians should be concerned about all these misplaced priorities, but Medicare and Medicaid are particularly at risk. House Republicans would end the help seniors receive toward closing the prescription drug doughnut hole. Their plan would eventually raise Medicare’s eligibility age from 65 to 67. It would transform the safety net into a premium-support voucher program that provides government subsidies to private insurers, though beneficiaries could keep the current fee-for-service option.” [Tampa Bay Times, 3/31/12; New York Times Editorial, 3/20/12; Center for American Progress, 3/20/12; Tax policy Center, 3/23/12]

The Tampa Bay Times wrote that under the DeSantis-Ryan budget the “Rich get richer” and “Medicare and Medicaid are particularly at risk.” “House Republicans envision a country where Americans would be increasingly on their own to afford food and medical care even when they are elderly, disabled or poor. It also would be a nation with a tax code that tilts further toward benefiting corporations and the wealthy.…Floridians should be concerned about all these misplaced priorities, but Medicare and Medicaid are particularly at risk…Congressional Republicans want to exacerbate the nation’s yawning income inequality while making life harder for those at the bottom.” [Tampa Bay Times, 3/31/12]

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