A pair of legislators who have pushed for major changes to Medicare and Medicaid and want to scrap Obamacare will lead the top two finance committees in the House in the next session of Congress.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the current chair of the Budget Committee, will take the gavel at the Ways and Means Committee. Taking his place at the helm of the Budget Committee will be Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), an orthopedic surgeon who just won re-election to a sixth term.
Ryan was the GOP nominee for vice president in 2012 and will be serving his ninth term in the House. He is closely associated with a plan that would overhaul Medicare. The most recent version of his proposal calls for the government to provide “premium support” for individuals who are now 55 and under, which they could apply toward traditional Medicare and or private insurance on a Medicare exchange when they become eligible for the program in 2024. Premium-support payments would be adjusted based on the health and incomes of beneficiaries.
But Joe Antos, a health policy expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, anticipates that Ryan won't continue pushing the premium support plan now that he'll need to put together a budget that can actually be enacted. “It's a concept; it's not fleshed out,” Antos said of the premium-support proposal. “Now that he's got Ways and Means he has to deal with the specifics of policy and he has to deal with proposals that really can get through the House and can get strong support, at least among Republicans, in the Senate.”
Ryan has also called for converting Medicaid to a block-grant program for states. An analysis of the proposal by the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that it would cut spending on the healthcare program for low-income households by 26% over a decade because it would fail to keep pace with healthcare spending and enrollment growth.
Price has put forth what he's described as a comprehensive alternative (PDF) to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Price's plan includes tax credits for health insurance and would also authorize the sale of health insurance plans across state lines and overhaul medical liability laws.
“We will put forward a budget that restores balance to the nation's books,” Price said in a statement, after being elected chair of the Budget Committee. “It will provide a blueprint for how to save and strengthen vital health and retirement programs while ensuring needed resources for those who protect and defend our great nation.”
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