Illustrating just how much discord there is on Capitol Hill when it comes to money, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) recently released budget plan to close the federal deficit in 10 years has been attacked by Democrats as too austere and by a subgroup of Republicans as too slow at achieving a black bottom line.
House Democrats, led by Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, would block Medicare payment cuts to providers activated by the sequester that will begin April 1. Instead, their plan would save $141 billion from the program by plugging up holes through efficiency improvements, including permitting Medicare to receive drug rebates for low-income beneficiaries that Medicaid receives and cracking down on Medicare Advantage plans that overstate the severity of patients' illnesses to be paid at higher rates. Medicaid's boosted fees to primary care physicians called for in the health law would also be implemented as planned.
Across the aisle, the 171-representative Republican Study Committee put out a budget plan to close the budget gap in just four years by reducing spending further than Rep. Ryan's plan, raising the Medicare eligibility age to 70 in 2024 and beginning a Medicare voucher option for seniors 59 and under by 2019. Ryan's proposed budget, slated for a vote this week, does not raise the Medicare age and doesn't make sweeping changes to the program until five years after the RSC's more conservative approach.
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House Democrats, led by Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, would block Medicare payment cuts to providers activated by the sequester that will begin April 1. Instead, their plan would save $141 billion from the program by plugging up holes through efficiency improvements, including permitting Medicare to receive drug rebates for low-income beneficiaries that Medicaid receives and cracking down on Medicare Advantage plans that overstate the severity of patients' illnesses to be paid at higher rates. Medicaid's boosted fees to primary care physicians called for in the health law would also be implemented as planned.
Across the aisle, the 171-representative Republican Study Committee put out a budget plan to close the budget gap in just four years by reducing spending further than Rep. Ryan's plan, raising the Medicare eligibility age to 70 in 2024 and beginning a Medicare voucher option for seniors 59 and under by 2019. Ryan's proposed budget, slated for a vote this week, does not raise the Medicare age and doesn't make sweeping changes to the program until five years after the RSC's more conservative approach.
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