Seniors would have to pay for nearly 68 percent of their Medicare costs under a proposal to revamp Medicare, unveiled earlier this week by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
With out-of-pocket costs significantly higher than the 25 percent now paid for by typical Medicare beneficiaries, Ryan's proposal would "end Medicare and Medicaid as we know them," the Washington Post editorialized. The Ryan plan includes moving most Medicare beneficiaries into private health plans, which have significantly higher administrative costs than Medicare. A review by the Congressional Budget Office analysis calculated the cost differences.
"What CBO is saying is beneficiaries would pay much less under traditional Medicare for two reasons," said Edwin Park of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, according to Kaiser Health News. "The overall cost of the plan would be much cheaper and they would pay a lesser share of that less costly plan."
In addition to the changes to Medicare, the proposal floated by Ryan and other Republicans would convert Medicaid into a bloc grant program to the states. The combined changes to the two programs are projected to save $5 trillion over the next decade.
Democrats say they'll use Ryan's plan "as a weapon" in several key Senate races, the Washington Post reports.
For more information:
- Read the Kaiser Health News article
- Read the Medscape Today article
- Read this Washington Post blog commentary