Medicare has been in the news lately with Mitt Romney's selection of Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate.

At issue is the Ryan-Wyden plan -- a bipartisan Medicare reform proposal developed by Ryan and Democrat Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. [Wyden is one of the most liberal members of the U.S. Senate.]

Under the proposal anyone aged 55 or older would not see any changes. Those younger would face enrollment options.

President Obama claims Medicare is in fine shape -- we only need to slash reimbursement rates.

Here's the reality. Medicare Part A will go bankrupt in 2024. That's zero.  Nothing. Nada. The big goose egg. The tank is empty.

This is according to the Medicare trustees.  The people who run the Medicare trust fund.  Medicare has been in deficit spending for four years.  And will run out of money in just 12 years.

This will occur in spite of the fact that under ObamaCare high income workers will have their Medicare payroll deductions -- employer and employee -- increase 31% starting in January.

The Medicare Trustees call for a 47% increase in Medicare taxes or a 26% reduction in benefits to avoid bankruptcy.

You may not like the Ryan-Wyden plan. But something needs to be done.

Any politician who says Medicare is just fine is not being honest.