As health reform continues to play a key role in the budget battle between Republicans and Democrats, top Republican lawmakers said they would be willing to compromise with the other side on ways to rein in healthcare costs, reports Reuters.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who authored the GOP proposal to overhaul Medicare and Medicaid, was singing a different tune on NBC's "Meet the Press" program, saying he would "absolutely" be open a deal on healthcare.
"Of course we would, this is the legislative process. But let me be clear: We are the only ones who have put out a plan," he noted.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R- Ky.) also admitted that a bipartisan compromise looked promising. "We have other budgets that Republicans are pushing," McConnell said on "Fox News Sunday." "We're not going to be able to coalesce behind just one."
However, those who hope for a bipartisan solution to controlling healthcare costs won't get their wishes filled anytime soon. The top congressional Republicans don't expect any deal to transpire before August, notes NBC.
As of now, Democrats still haven't offered a plan to counter to the GOP's plan to restructure Medicare into a voucher system.
For more:
- read the Reuters article
- read the NBC article