In an attempt to counter Democratic attacks on his plan to overhaul Medicare, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan has featured in a new TV ad which essentially explains the core components of the revamp plan.

The ad – for which the creator, conservative 60 Plus Association, is spending $1.4 million – clearly elucidates that the Ryan plan will have no effect whatsoever on the senior citizens who are currently receiving Medicare as well as on those who still have 10 years to go for their retirement.

As such, the ad draws attention to the fact that the Medicare overhaul is chiefly aimed at people who are less than 55 years old at present. The ad will be aired countrywide on cable TV and statewide on broadcast stations in Florida and Ohio for the next 10-14 days.

The ad has Ryan stating: “Washington has not been honest with you about Medicare. If we do nothing, Medicare spending will nearly double over the next decade, exhausting its remaining funds.”

Ryan's plan – which is being attacked by the Democrats – will essentially pay private insurers a specified amount of money for coverage, with beneficiaries to make up the difference in costs which remain uncovered by the insurers.

However, the Democrats are attacking the plan on the grounds that it will take away the safety net that the federal government has long been providing for senior citizens; thereby ending Medicare “as we know it.”