House GOP budget to propose major Medicare change
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By Catalina Camia, USA TODAY
House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will unveil a long-term budget plan that includes major changes to Medicare and Medicaid. CAPTIONBy Susan Walsh, APHouse Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said he'll unveil a long-term budget plan this week calling for "more than" $4 trillion in spending cuts that will also overhaul Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlement programs that drive up the nation's debt.
Ryan, speaking on Fox News Sunday, said final numbers are still being tweaked. He broadly outlined his 10-year plan that will surely get attacked by Democrats for thits scope and breadth.
A major issue will be Ryan's plan to dramatically overhaul Medicare, the health care program for seniors, and Medicaid, the joint federal-state health program for low-income people.
Ryan will unveil his proposal on Tuesday. He told Chris Wallace of Fox News that he's prepared for his plan to become a rallying cry for Democrats in the 2012 election. But he insisted that Republicans are showing leadership on long-term fiscal issues.
"Yes, we are giving them a political weapon to go against us," Ryan said. "But they will have to lie and demagogue to make it a weapon. ...Shame on them. We can't keep kicking the can down the road."
Ryan's Medicare plan, similar to a proposal he crafted with former Clinton budget director Alice Rivlin, is already being attacked by congressional Democrats on Ryan's committee. Ryan said Sunday he prefers to call it a "premium support" program, but it has been called a voucher program in various news stories.
The proposal, Ryan said, would allow people to choose from a menu of health insurance plans that are run privately -- instead of now all enrolling in the federally run Medicare program. His proposal would not affect anyone currently taking part in Medicare, but is aimed at people who are now 55 years and under.
On Medicaid, Ryan said his plan will call for transferring the program back to states in the form of block grants. He declined to give a specific number on how much would be saved, but said it would be "over" $1 trillion.
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