Who Wins With The Wyden-Ryan Plan?

The specter of Rep. Paul Ryan's radical Medicare plan was one of the best weapons in Democrats' arsenal going into 2012: They promised to save Medicare, while Ryan and the Republicans argued for fundamental reform. Now both Ryan and at least one Democrat—Rep. Ron Wyden of Oregon—have broken ranks, though it's unclear how far toward the middle the new proposal goes. Talking Points Memo says Wyden's move will infuriate other Democrats, who had opposed premium support en masse. But Ezra Klein says the proposal, with its insurance exchange and subsidy tied to the second-cheapest plan, is actually quite like the GOP-hated Affordable Care Act. “The difference here is that the system will include a massive public option in Medicare, which is something conservatives refused to allow in the Affordable Care Act,” writes Klein.