Medicare was front and center this week in budget and deficit-reduction talks and in a New York congressional race.
Even with overwhelming Republican support in the House, the budget proposal authored by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) failed to pass the Senate. Mr. Ryan’s plan would essentially end Medicare as an entitlement and instead give those who are 55 or younger today government subsidies to purchase health insurance. Despite the setback, Republicans say they’re not giving up on the bill that they say addresses much-needed reforms to Medicare and will help cut the budget deficit.
Photo courtesy of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
Mr. Ryan’s plan was also the defining issue of this week’s New York special election, which sent Democrat Kathy Hochul to the House.
Former President Bill Clinton joined the debate at a fiscal summit sponsored by the Pete G. Peterson Foundation. While he agreed that Medicare reforms are necessary, he said the Ryan plan is not the answer.
For more details, check out the special edition of the Policy & Practice Podcast.
— Frances Correa (on Twitter @FMCReporting)
