http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2017/07/25/levin-medicare-gop-health-plan/103972948/
Last week House Republicans passed in committee a budget proposal that would replace the guarantee of future Medicare benefits with a voucher, and that would cut Medicare funding by $487 billion over the next decade. This attack on benefits for senior citizens is particularly misguided in a budget designed to pave the way for enormous tax breaks for the wealthy and for large corporations.
Converting Medicare to a “premium support” system, as the Republican budget proposes, would replace the program’s guarantee of health coverage with a flat payment that beneficiaries would use to purchase coverage. In effect, it would turn Medicare into a voucher system that would erode the basic value of its benefits and leave seniors facing higher medical expenses.
Republicans claim that current seniors would be exempt from this change, but once the basic guarantee of Medicare is eliminated for some, it will be at immediate risk for all. Furthermore, a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation points out that premiums would likely rise for people on Medicare who are “grandfathered” if younger, lower-cost beneficiaries are enrolled in a new voucher program. An analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that a voucher plan could in fact raise premiums for those left in traditional Medicare by as much as 94 percent — almost doubling what they currently pay.
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