House Republicans may draft a bill to privatize Medicare, which would mean offering seniors a fixed payment to buy from a number of private coverage options, according to a report by the Associated Press.
However, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said he was still just floating the idea, and a spokesman for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) emphasized that "no decisions have been made" on the House GOP budget, including the privatization idea.
Democrats predicted privatization would mean deep cuts in Medicare spending, but Republicans said it might be the only way to preserve taxpayer-funded healthcare for seniors as this age group swells with baby-boomers.
Under Rep. Ryan's plan, privatization would be phased in, with older beneficiaries staying on traditional Medicare. New beneficiaries would get a voucher to buy private insurance for an amount based on total current Medicare spending adjusted for inflation.
Last year, the chairmen of President Obama's debt commission said the Medicare voucher idea could be an option if other methods to control healthcare costs didn’t work. But the public still has to be convinced. A 2010 AP poll showed 51 percent opposed such a plan and 35 percent supported it. However, people born after 1980 were more open to the idea.
Read the AP report on Medicare.
Read more coverage of proposals to cuts Medicare costs:
- Federal Deficit Panel's Draft Report Includes Fee-Fix, Cuts for Hospitals
- Separate Deficit Panel Releases Report, Pushes More Costs Onto Medicare Beneficiaries
- Senate Candidate Rand Paul Says Cut Medicaid or Face 'Intergenerational Warfare'
However, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said he was still just floating the idea, and a spokesman for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) emphasized that "no decisions have been made" on the House GOP budget, including the privatization idea.
Democrats predicted privatization would mean deep cuts in Medicare spending, but Republicans said it might be the only way to preserve taxpayer-funded healthcare for seniors as this age group swells with baby-boomers.
Under Rep. Ryan's plan, privatization would be phased in, with older beneficiaries staying on traditional Medicare. New beneficiaries would get a voucher to buy private insurance for an amount based on total current Medicare spending adjusted for inflation.
Last year, the chairmen of President Obama's debt commission said the Medicare voucher idea could be an option if other methods to control healthcare costs didn’t work. But the public still has to be convinced. A 2010 AP poll showed 51 percent opposed such a plan and 35 percent supported it. However, people born after 1980 were more open to the idea.
Read the AP report on Medicare.
Read more coverage of proposals to cuts Medicare costs:
- Federal Deficit Panel's Draft Report Includes Fee-Fix, Cuts for Hospitals
- Separate Deficit Panel Releases Report, Pushes More Costs Onto Medicare Beneficiaries
- Senate Candidate Rand Paul Says Cut Medicaid or Face 'Intergenerational Warfare'