Democratic senators and Congressional Republicans are today launching a new proposal to strengthen Medicare today, but rejected the White House plan, arguing it was going to “end Medicare as we know it to millions of seniors.”
Jay Carney of the White House Press Secretary said today that the Obama administration’s new proposals concerned “would undermine rather than strengthen, Medicare. Wyden-Ryan proposal could over time lead to the traditional Medicare program, quote, ‘ wither on the vine, ‘ because it will increase your premium, forcing many seniors to abandon traditional Medicare and joins the personal plan, and it will switch costs from Governments for seniors. “
The new plan, proposed by Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, would give seniors the option of getting traditional Medicare (health insurance for Government-run) or purchase private insurance. Seniors will receive subsidies, called “premium” support, “to spend on a good choice. The plan will go into effect 2022 and will continue to Medicare eligibility age to 65.
At the beginning of the year, Ryan posed more conservative idea that will be completely removed the Government-run Medicare to provide “premium support” vouchers for private insurance. The plan was endorsed by the Republican-controlled House, but it makes a fuss among Democrats who charge would essentially gut popular Medicare system.
In the early years, Mr. Obama put forward a plan to save hundreds of billions of reducing overpayments in Medicare. Carney said today that the reform program “doesn’t need the kind of radical privatization or end Medicare as we know that Ryan’s proposal shows and Wyden-Ryan got a plan to end.”