“I believe keeping our promises should be our highest priority and that means saving Social Security and Medicare.”– Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
The Budget for the 1%, introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan, takes the most extreme Medicare reforms proposed in 2011 and makes them worse. Three very dangerous changes – raising the eligibility age, basing per person spending on unrelated GDP instead of medical costs and giving the majority of tax payer dollars to private insurance Corporations – will ensure that seniors will pay more out of pocket every year going forward with no increase in service or care.
By 2030, the average American senior will pay 65% more ($8,349 per person) out of pocket to cover the gap in Medicare coverage under the Republican Budget for 1%. Their budget forces seniors to choose between eating, housing, and the medicine they need to survive. Saving Medicare does not mean throwing seniors to wolves of private, for-profit, insurance corporations, giving CEO’s the right to cut care or raise costs to increase profit share with no regard for quality care.
The Budget for All, introduced by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, preserves the Medicare promise we made to our Seniors, guarantees the care they need, and does it with no cuts to benefits. The Budget for All does not raise the eligibility age and it ties expenditures to the reality of rising health costs so our seniors on fixed incomes can afford the medicine they need to survive.
Comparisons at a glance:
Budget for All Budget for the 1%
Maintains Eligibility Age at 65 Raises Eligibility Age to 67
No Cuts to Benefits Insurance Companies Choose Benefits
Guarantees Coverage Shifts Responsibility to Private Insurance
Out of Pocket Annual Cost Increase 1% Out of Pocket Annual Cost Increase of 20%
Keeps all Seniors in a Eliminates Group Savings by Splitting up
Shared Risk Pool to Lower Costs for All. Seniors state by state.