Is the GOP really ending Medicare? Unsurprisingly, they say no. This raises a question: If they’re going to be providing a completely different (and worse) service, albeit under the “Medicare” name, is it still Medicare? I say no.

Let me offer an analogy. Let’s say that McDonald’s announced that for people born after 1955, they are going to discontinue the “classic” Big Mac. In its place, customers will receive a single patty, open-face on a single bun, for a new price of $8.00. They will, however, continue to call it a Big Mac. Has McDonald’s ended the Big Mac? The new version does still have the same name, after all.

I’m bringing this up because of a PolitiFact article that claims Dems aren’t telling the truth when they claim that Republicans will end Medicare. But when you compare the two programs, it seems pretty clear to me that the only thing the Ryan plan would preserve of Medicare would be its name.

First of all, there doesn’t seem to be much dispute over the impact of the GOP proposal. PolitiFact acknowledges that the new program would be radically different:

Ryan’s plan leaves Medicare as is for people 55 and older. In 2022, though, new beneficiaries would receive “premium support,” which means they would buy plans from private insurance companies with financial assistance from the government. People who need more health care would get a little more money.

This is a radically different program. Medicare is a government-operated, single-payer plan. It will be replaced with a privatized voucher program. Speaking of which, PolitiFact questions whether this is a voucher program as well:

Some call this a voucher program, but the proposal says it’s not a voucher plan, because the government would pay the insurance companies directly.

Wow, we’re really quibbling over semantics here, huh? Does it matter how the money is distributed? The Ryan plan would give seniors an allotment of money to apply to a specific service in the private market. That’s a voucher program. 

PolitiFact also acknowledges that the program will cost seniors significantly more than today’s version of Medicare.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analyzed Ryan’s proposal and found that it will save the government money. But it does so by asking future Medicare beneficiaries to pay more for insurance.

In fact, later in the article, PolitiFact acknowledges that the “new” version of Medicare will cost seniors an additional $6,350 per year. So not only will the services offered be completely different, it will cost seniors twice as much to participate.

So, we’re moving from an affordable, single-payer health care program to a private-market voucher program that would cost twice as much. PolitiFact puts all of these facts together and arrives at a completely ridiculous conclusion:

Yes, the Republican plan would be a huge change to the current program, and seniors would have to pay more for their health plans if it becomes law. Democrats, including President Barack Obama, have said they are strongly opposed to the plan.

But to say the Republicans voted to end Medicare, as the ad does, is a major exaggeration. All seniors would continue to be offered coverage under the proposal, and the program’s budget would increase every year.

Sorry, but this all adds up to more than a “change” to the current program. In no way, shape, or form would the Ryan program bear any remote resemblance to Medicare. Just because the name doesn’t change doesn’t make it the same program.

I for one will continue to say that the GOP is ending Medicare. Regardless of what they call it, the Ryan plan replaces one of the cornerstones of our social safety net with a modest voucher for private services.