U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) have introduced a bipartisan Medicare reform plan in an effort to build a more secure future for senior citizens who rely on Medicare aid.
The plan would integrate current government backed Medicare plans with private Medicare plans, allowing competition between the two and providing more options for low income seniors.
The new system would be enacted in 2022, with a “premium support system,” which encourages plans to provide faster, high quality care as a result of the competition between the government option and private health plans. This would also greatly reduce the number of seniors who often have to give up their private healthcare plans and enroll in Medicare when they turn 65 years old.
Additionally, the new plan would place a cap on out of pocket, guaranteeing ongoing coverage for seniors who are eligible for Medicare or income assistance plans.
“I’m pleased that the final version of the 2012 Intelligence Authorization Act does not include the multi-year extension of the FISA Amendments Act that was included in the Senate version of the bill,” Mr. Wyden said in a statement on Thursday.
“Few issues draw more heated partisan rhetoric than the future of Medicare. Seniors are a reliable and powerful voting bloc, and both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of exploiting Medicare concerns to frighten and entice voters, Sen. Wyden and Rep. Paul said in a joint opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal Thursday.
Seniors who are currently 55 years or older would not be affected by the changes, in 2022 they would have the option of opting out of the plan.
“Before the partisan attacks begin to escalate and the 2012 election ads start to air, we are outlining a plan for how Democrats and Republicans can work together to ensure that American retirees – now and forever – have quality, affordable health insurance,” Mr. Ryan and Mr. Paul said in a joint statement posted for their website.
The Senate Democrat and the Republican governor indicated that the plan was a solution to at least one aspect of the variety of issues that Congress has been has been split on between the two parties in recent weeks.
The proposal also includes a provision to prevent Medicare spending from rising to more anything above more than 1 percent of the U.S. Gross Demostic Product, and providers and drug companies would see “reduced support.”
“Taken together, these reforms will ensure that Medicare will remain the guaranteed, affordable lifeline
that its creators envisioned, both for older Americans and for young families paying into the system,” the two members of Congress said Thursday.
