It examines potential changes in the premiums paid by Medicare beneficiaries under a payment approach that caps federal contributions per beneficiary based on the cost of the second lowest-bidding private plan or traditional Medicare, whichever is lower in their area. This differs from the current Medicare system, in which beneficiaries generally pay the same Medicare premium regardless of where they live, whether they choose traditional Medicare or a private plan, or whether they live in a high-cost or low-cost area. The analysis does not attempt to model any specific proposal, but is generally based on an approach included in House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's fiscal year 2013 budget plan, the proposal Chairman Ryan co-sponsored with Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, and; in the plan put forward by former Senator Pete Domenici and Dr. Alice Rivlin.  Nearly six in 10 Medicare recipients would pay higher premiums under a hypothetical privatized system along the lines of what Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has proposed, according to a study released Monday. Assuming full implementation of such a system, and assuming current plan preferences among beneficiaries, the study estimates that: 
 
 
 
 Nearly six in 10 Medicare beneficiaries nationally could face higher premiums for Medicare benefits, assuming current plan preferences, including more than half of beneficiaries enrolled in traditional Medicare and almost nine in 10 Medicare Advantage enrollees. Premiums for traditional Medicare would vary widely based on geography under the proposed premium support system, with no increase for beneficiaries living in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Wyoming and the District of Columbia, but an average increase of at least $100 per month in California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada and New York. Such variations would exist even within a state, with traditional Medicare premiums remaining unchanged in California's San Francisco and Sacramento counties and rising by more than $200 per month in Los Angeles and Orange counties. In five states _ California, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey and Nevada _ more than 45 percent of beneficiaries would pay at least $100 a month more in premiums.
– Paul Ryan's coupon-based Medicare plan would result in higher costs for six in 10 beneficiaries for the same service they're getting now—and Floridians would suffer the greatest financial toll, a yearlong, nonpartisan study finds. The Kaiser Family Foundation says that Medicare beneficiaries in Florida would pay, on average, more than $200 extra per month on the Ryan plan, the AP reports. In Miami-Dade County, which has a large population of beneficiaries, most recipients would pay almost an extra $500 per month; 99% of Palm Beach County plans would rise $370 a month, the Raw Story reports. Seniors nationwide would pay an average of an extra $720 a year, the Kaiser report finds. Both campaigns have already issued reactions to the study. The Obama campaign says the study doesn't even tell the full story, since it only looks at "a single year" and "ignores the role of adverse selection against traditional Medicare—which would drive costs higher." A Romney rep notes that the study doesn't look at "the Romney-Ryan plan"—distinct from the Ryan plan, though Mitt Romney has called the two "the same, if not identical." The Romney-Ryan plan would mean "no increase in out-of-pocket costs from today’s Medicare," the spokeswoman adds.