Congressman Young authored a plan that would “end Medicare” as we know it. Young’s plan would end the Medicare guarantee and create a voucher program.
That means:
– Many seniors would be forced to pay sharply higher premiums to stay in traditional Medicare and keep their current choice of doctors.
– More and more seniors would gradually shift to private health insurance plans over time, increasing the privatization of Medicare.
Under Young’s plan, Indiana’s 1.1 million Medicare beneficiaries could find that their health care coverage costs more and provides less. In fact, it is estimated that his plan would increase seniors’ out of pocket costs by an average of $6,400 a year.
Young’s plan would bring back the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole,” forcing many Hoosier seniors to pay additional costs for their medications. Young’s plan would put Hoosier seniors’ trust and confidence in their health care at risk.
BACKGROUND:
YOUNG’S PLAN WOULD “END MEDICARE”
Wall Street Journal: GOP Plan Would “End Medicare.” “The plan would essentially end Medicare, which now pays most of the health-care bills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans, as a program that directly pays those bills.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/04/11]
Princeton Professor: Medicare Would Be “Much More Meager Program For Most of the Elderly” As A Result Of The Young-Drafted Ryan Plan. “Princeton professor Uwe Reinhardt — perhaps the foremost health care economist in the country — said, ‘…In short, Medicare will not disappear – i.e., get killed — but it will be a much more meager program for most of the elderly.’” [TPM, 6/14/11]
YOUNG’S PLAN WOULD INCREASE SENIORS’ OUT OF POCKET HEALTH CARE COSTS BY $6,400
The CBO Found That The Ryan Budget Would Increase Seniors’ Health Care Costs By $6,400. “Analyzing a slightly different version of Mr. Ryan’s proposal last year, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that ‘most elderly people would pay more for their health care.’ The additional costs, averaging perhaps $6,400 for a typical beneficiary in 2022, would require older Americans to ‘reduce their use of health care services, spend less on other goods and services, or save more in advance of retirement,’ the report said.” [New York Times, 8/11/12; Congressional Budget Office, 4/5/11]
The Young-Drafted Ryan Plan Would Increase Seniors’ Out Of Pocket Costs By $6,400. “Even so, the plan would leave older Americans on average with $6,400 in extra costs by 2022, according to the Congressional Budget Office.” [New York Times, 8/12/12]
The Young-Drafted Ryan Budget Would Have Forced Nearly Four Million Seniors To Pay An Additional $2.2 Billion For Prescription Drugs In 2012 Alone. “The Republican-passed budget will force nearly four million seniors to pay an additional $2.2 BILLION for prescription drugs next year alone.” [DPCC, 4/21/11]
The Young-Drafted Ryan Plan Would Bring Back The Medicare Prescription Drug “Donut Hole.” “The coverage gap in the Medicare prescription drug benefit would be brought back.” [Associated Plan, 4/6/11]
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