Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney has picked Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., a longtime supporter of personal account programs, to be his running mate.
Romney, the founder and former chairman of Bain Capital, Boston and a former governor of Massachusetts, announced the decision at an August press conference in Norfolk, Va.,
Romney touched on Medicare and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) during his speech announcing that Ryan is his pick for vice president.
"Unlike the current president who has cut Medicare funding by $700 billion, we will preserve and protect Medicare and Social Security," Romney said. "Under the current president, health care has only become more expensive. We will reform health care so that more Americans have access to affordable health care, and we will get that started by repealing and replacing Obamacare."
The Romney campaign mentions health care issues only in passing in a description of Ryan posted on its website.
While serving on the House Ways and Means Committee, Ryan has focused on "simplifying the tax code and making health care more affordable and accessible," the campaign says.
Ryan himself said nothing directly about Medicare or health care during his own speech in Norfolk.
Ryan, who is in his seventh term in Congress, was born Jan. 29, 1970, in Janesville, Wis. His father, Paul Ryan Sr., was a lawyer. Rya Sr. died of a heart attack when Ryan was 16.
Ryan has a bachelor's degree in economics and political science from Miami University in Ohio. Before he entered Congress, at the age of 28, he served as an aide to other members of Congress and as a speechwriter for William Bennett while Bennett was education secretary.
LifeHealthPro, its predecessor websites and the print publications that feed into it have mentioned Ryan more than 50 times over the years.