Within the next week, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (Of The Republican Response Fame), R-Wisconsin, plans to reveal his plans for the 2012 Republican budget. His plans appear to include making numerous cuts to Medicaid and a complete overhaul of Medicare.
According to his plan, Ryan would insure that in 2021:
"Americans would no longer enroll in the Medicare program, but instead receive vouchers for private insurance, according to the GOP sources, who stressed anyone 55 or older now would not be affected by the change."
Although the details of the entire voucher concept are still a bit murky, Ryan said:
"(T)he amount of the voucher -- a lump sum payment from the government -- would be calculated in part by taking the average federal cost per Medicare enrollee."
The Republican Party hopes that by revamping Medicare they will save billions of dollars, in addition to tackling one of the biggest culprits of the national debt.
Ryan's plan also calls for cuts on Medicaid that could be as much as $1 trillion, as well as it becoming block grants to the states. Surprisingly, Ryan's plan barely holds any mention of Social Security, despite its place as an integral figure among the many problems associated with the national debt. Discretionary spending is expected to be cut as well, according to GOP sources. A permanent extension to the Bush-era tax cuts is also expected to be addressed.
Many are saying that Ryan's proposals are not only risky but also coming at a risky time, in the midst of negotiations with the Democrats. Ultimately, Republicans have been planning to mount an attack on entitlement programs because of their role in the budget deficit and debt and this could be their moment.
So, what do you think? Is Ryan's plan too liberal? Too conservative? Too risky? Too safe? Is this the answer to balancing the budget? What does this mean for entitlement programs, a la Medicaid and Medicare? Will we have to wait for the actual announcement? Sound off and don't let the haterz silence you!
4 comments:
I think Paul Ryan's proposal deserves to be seriously looked at. Honestly, the only way we can make substantial steps towards lessening our national debt is to focus on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Most other expenditures hold a far smaller percentage of the debt, though the media and politicians still harp about earmarks and pork like its the cause of our debt. The one thing I do respect is Ryan's willingness to look at cutting the biggest costs. This idea for vouchers is also interesting. If recipients can go to private insurance for the same cost, then that's an overall win. But what about those under 55?
One thing I find ridiculous is making the Bush-era tax cuts permanent. It seems a bit suspect to me when cuts to Medicare and Medicaid are readily proposed but unnecessary tax cuts to the wealthiest are quickly dismissed.
Although I like that Paul Ryan attempts to reform the Medicare/ Medicaid programs that consume large portions of our budget, I don't think that his plan is the best way to bring about reform. First of all, I don't think that having Americans "receive vouchers for private insurance" instead of Medicare is the best idea, especially when combined with the fact that he wants to repeal the health care reform that was passed last year; last year's health care reform protects people and prevents insurance companies from denying coverage for things like preexisting conditions. Thus, getting seniors to buy private insurance seems like an increasingly bad idea- it might be really expensive, and the insurance companies might try to deny coverage to them. Also, there are other parts of the plan that seem extremely questionable. For example, Ryan at first suggested that his plan would eventually lower the unemployment rate to 2.8%, which seems extremely unlikely. Furthermore, according to a Yahoo! News article, the "savings in the Ryan plan come from the assumption that non-entitlement spending (that is, everything aside from health care and Social Security) can be cut from 12 percent of GDP to 3.5 percent. But the plan doesn't explain how this huge spending reduction would be achieved. Since the other major driver of federal spending is defense, the only remotely plausible way to do it would seem to be giant cuts to the Defense Department. But at a time when the United States is involved in three wars, that's something few in Ryan's party seem willing to support." Thus, though I agree with the base ideas in Ryan's plan, I don't think that his plan is the best way to bring about the necessary changes, and there are also great doubts as to whether or not the plan will actually be as beneficial as he claims it will.
i honestly dont care how they cut up the budget as long as if a palet falls on me while i'm making deliveries at work or if something bad happens to my family.... i'm insured.
Don't care what they do, just make sure i'm covered.
-Raymond Lim
That's sad ): Taking away these people's health insurance is terrible! Everyone deserves to have medical insurance. That's kind of like telling a person "oh well, you dont have money, I guess we'll see you in heaven". So mean. I think that there should be one big health insurance plan system for under 55 like these low costing ones, and then one big one for over 55, to make life so much simpler. Applying for these MediCal and Medicaid and Medicare are jst so hard to get into. Everyone could make life so much less stressful. But why don't we do it? Whoooooo knows.
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