When the sequester hit the federal budget seven days ago, the budget hawk on the right, Rep. Paul Ryan, started re-floating his 2012 budget plan as the solution. Opponents of the GOP budget will recall that Ryan is in favor of raising the age for Medicare eligibility and privatizing the health care program. The White [...]
May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Will Privatizing Medicare Work? A Few Clues from Part D Plans May Tell.
The Medicare prescription drug program, better known as “Part D,” was the first step towards privatizing Medicare. By all accounts it is successful and should be a model for overall Medicare reform. It gives seniors a choice and it relies on private competition to keep costs under control. By all measures it is coming in [...]
May 4, 2012 By 1 Comment
Is Paul Ryan’s Medicare Reform Concept Doomed?
The Huffington Post reported yesterday that Henry Arron, co-creator of the Medicare reform concept that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) supports, no longer believes it is the best approach. “Aaron and former Urban Institute president Robert Reischauer came up with the idea of “premium support” in 1995, after the failure of then-First Lady Hillary Clinton’s bid [...]
