A Democratic senator, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and a Republican member of the House, Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, unveiled a bipartisan plan on Wednesday to revamp Medicare and make a fixed federal contribution to the cost of coverage for each beneficiary.
Under the proposal, known as premium support, Medicare would subsidize premiums charged by private insurers that care for beneficiaries under contract with the government. Congress would establish an insurance exchange for Medicare beneficiaries. Private plans would compete with the traditional Medicare program and would have to provide benefits of the same or greater value. The federal contribution in each region would be based on the cost of the second-cheapest option, whether that was a private plan or traditional Medicare.
Unlike the Ryan budget blueprint approved by the House in April, Mr. Ryan said, the new proposal would preserve the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program as an option for all beneficiaries. “Our proposal harnesses the power of competition to address the root cause of medical inflation,” said Mr. Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee.
This something to consider. Read about it in the NY Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/us/politics/lawmakers-offer-bipartisan-plan-to-overhaul-medicare.html?_r=1
William Wombacher, your Central Illinois Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) and Social Security Disability Specialist. I’ll help you! www..wombacherlaw.com
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