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| Florida Poll Spread: 1 percentage point (Obama) Population 55 to 64: 12.23% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $11,893 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 16.21% (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| When GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney named Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential nominee, the status of public health insurance in America—specifically Medicare and Medicaid—was cemented as one of the key debate points in the run-up to the November election. After all, before becoming Romney’s running mate, Ryan was perhaps best known for his proposals to overhaul Medicare, which called for raising the minimum qualifying age by two years, and privatizing the longstanding government program by giving enrollees a yearly allowance to buy health insurance. Romney has struggled to harmonize Ryan’s suggested overhauls with a more moderate campaign message, but in the meantime the Romney and Obama camps have been trading barbs on Medicare over the past week. Daily Beast started with the more than a dozen states defined as battleground territory by Real Clear Politics. Daily Beast then took into account spending on personal health care for Medicare enrollees for 2009, the most recent year available, with data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid; the total population over 65 that uses Medicare as a percentage of the total population; and the percentage of each state’s population age 55 to 64—both using data from the U.S. Census. States ranked higher that have close poll numbers, relatively high yearly spending for Medicare enrollees, a high percentage of Medicare beneficiaries, and a high percentage of the population poised to enroll in Medicare over the next decade. Each category was weighted equally. Among the top 10? Paul Ryan’s home state of Wisconsin. (AP Photos) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Nevada Poll Spread: 5 percentage points (Obama) Population 55 to 64: 11.49% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $9,692 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 11% (Laura Rauch / AP Photo) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Colorado Poll Spread: 1 percentage point (Obama) Population 55 to 64: 11.60% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $8,727 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 10.10% (David Zadlubowski / AP Photo) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Virginia Poll Spread: .7 percentage points (Obama) Population 55 to 64: 11.72% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $8,772 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 11.31% (Jacquelyn Martin / AP Photo) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Missouri Poll Spread: 6.3 percentage points (Romney) Population 55 to 64: 11.81% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $9,724 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 12.99% (Jeff Curry / AP Photo) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Wisconsin Poll Spread: 4.3 percentage points (Obama) Population 55 to 64: 11.97% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $8,908 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 12.77% (Morry Gash / AP Photo) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Oregon Poll Spread: 8 percentage points (Obama) Population 55 to 64: 13.02% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $8,247 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 13.13% (Morry Gash / AP Photo) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| North Carolina Poll Spread: 1 percentage point (Romney) Population 55 to 64: 11.73% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $9,7417 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 12.10% (Chris Hondros / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Iowa Poll Spread: 1 percentage point (Obama) Population 55 to 64: 11.95% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $8,461 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 13.83% (Nati Harnik / AP Photo) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Michigan Poll Spread: 6.3 percentage points (Obama) Population 55 to 64: 12.28% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $10,925 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 12.94% (Paul Sancya / AP Photo) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| New Hampshire Poll Spread: 3.5 percentage points (Obama) Population 55 to 64: 13.15% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $8,763 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 12.42% (Jim Cole / AP Photo) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Ohio Poll Spread: 3 percentage points (Obama) Population 55 to 64: 12.22% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $10,300 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 13.03% (Jim Cole / AP Photo) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Pennsylvania Poll Spread: 6.6 percentage points (Obama) Population 55 to 64: 12.43% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $10,555 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 14.39% (Matt Rourke / AP Photo) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Florida Poll Spread: 1 percentage point (Obama) Population 55 to 64: 12.23% Annual Medicare spending per enrollee: $11,893 Age 65+ with Medicare, as percentage of total population: 16.21% (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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