CMA Health Policy Blog

The Ryan Budget: Déjà Vu All Over Again (Again)

April 3, 2014 at 8:26 pm meshepard 1 comment

On April 1st Representative Paul Ryan rolled out yet another “Path to Prosperity,” as he annually calls his budget.  Unfortunately, the budget is a repeat of past year plans and is not a path to prosperity for most Americans – or for Medicare.

Once again, Rep. Ryan’s budget proposes a private approach to Medicare:

For future retirees, the budget supports an approach known as ‘premium support.’ Starting in 2024, seniors (those who first become eligible by turning 65 on or after January 1, 2024) would be given a choice of private plans competing alongside the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program.

Rep. Ryan has proposed “premium support” for future Medicare participants many times in the past.  While his budget assures us that “this is not a voucher program,” it is, once again, a proposal to pay a certain amount towards private insurance for Medicare beneficiaries. Ironically, Mr. Ryan states such insurance plans “would be available in a newly created Medicare Exchange.” This is ironic because the proposal is remarkably similar to the Affordable Care Act marketplace that is so maligned by Mr. Ryan and his colleagues.

Rep. Ryan suggests that changing Medicare to premium support is needed because

the government has been … a clumsy, ineffective steward of value. Controlling costs in an open-ended fee-for-service system has proved impossible to do without limiting access or sacrificing quality.

In fact, over the last few years traditional Medicare per-capita cost growth has declined, leading the way to parallel reductions in the rise of overall healthcare costs.

The unnecessary costs for the government, taxpayers, and all Medicare beneficiaries that need controlling are the hundreds of billions of dollars in excess payments to private Medicare Advantage plans under Medicare Part C and private pharmaceutical companies under Medicare Part D.  These unnecessary private industry payments are the real threat to Medicare’s future.  If Mr. Ryan’s goal is really to save money and preserve a strong Medicare program, he would look to these cost overruns for savings. He certainly would not propose further privatizing Medicare.

However, the latest Path to Prosperity does again seek to privatize Medicare. At the same time it would reduce Medicare’s value to older people and people with disabilities by:

• Increasing the age of eligibility to 67.
• Charging more for Medigap coverage.
• Combining Parts A and B cost-sharing, thereby increasing costs for most beneficiaries.
• Increasing premiums for more beneficiaries.

Regrettably, the Ryan plan may provide a continued path to prosperity for private insurance and pharmaceutical companies, but it is a dead end for Medicare, older people and people with disabilities.

Entry filed under: Medicare Reform, Premium Support, Public vs. Private Health Coverage, Reform, Ryan Plan, Vouchers.