Democrat lies and demagoguery must be called out:
"The Medicare portion of the Ryan budget plan is not a voucher plan, nor would it deny treatment to low-income seniors.
Page 46 of Ryan's budget resolution reads, "Starting in 2022, new Medicare beneficiaries will be enrolled in the same kind of health care program that members of Congress enjoy. Future Medicare recipients will be able to choose from a list of guaranteed coverage options, and they will be given the ability to choose a plan that works best for them."
Ryan's approach would let seniors who retire in 2021 and after choose from a variety of government-approved, competing and comprehensive health insurance plans, at different prices with different levels of service.
Medicare would pay a certain portion of the insurance company premium, with the amount to depend on the income, age, and health of the beneficiary. The rest of the premium would be paid by the beneficiary.
The amount of premium support depends on the income and health of the beneficiary. So the charge that if Grandma doesn't have the money to pay the premium, her subsidy will be greater. She will not be wheeled off a cliff, contrary to Democratic ads.
As with federal workers, beneficiaries will not be able to take the government share of the plan and use it elsewhere, so it is not a voucher.
The means-tested Medicare premiums that Ryan proposes would leave well-off seniors paying more for their health care than poor seniors. Everyone agrees that Medicare is unsustainable now. Surely the way to solvency is to have the well-off pay higher premiums.
Another advantage of the FEHB is the variety of plans it will offer at different prices.
More choice means lower costs. Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit, has cost less than was forecast because seniors have a choice of plans that compete for their business. Outside of Medicare, prices for Lasik eye surgery and cosmetic surgery have declined steadily. The reason is that these services are usually not covered by insurance, and so patients shop around.
The inescapable problem is that America has a deficit of $1.6 trillion. Government spending has risen from a historical average of 20 percent of gross domestic product to a level of 25 percent of GDP this fiscal year. Ten years from now, the Office of Management and Budget projects a level of over 23 percent of GDP.
This cannot continue. Public debt is projected to nearly double, even with the most optimistic economic assumptions, over the next decade. Something has to be done to reduce the deficit.
President Obama has proposed to cut costs by using the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a group of 15 bureaucrats, to decide which treatments Grandma should have. That's rationing, and it's very different from the current Medicare plan.
America must rein in Medicare spending - the only question is how. We should start with some more options, and a more civilized discussion."
Read more at The Washington Examiner
