Post by icemandios on Mar 7, 2017 14:33:05 GMT
HHS Secretary comments in support of Medicare for seniors
Author
Luke Gale
Published
March 7, 2017
Dive Brief:
HHS Secretary Tom Price said during an interview with CBS Face the Nation that the Trump administration “believes in the guarantee of Medicare for our seniors."
President Donald Trump indicated during a recent address to Congress that his administration did not have interest in making changes to Medicare.
While the most recent iteration of healthcare reform being floated by House Republicans does not make significant changes to Medicare, House Speaker Paul Ryan said the future of Medicare is an “open question,” according to CBS.
Dive Insight:
Unless Price and Trump are misleading the public, it appears that healthcare reform that significantly transforms Medicare will not make it past the President’s desk. Following Trump’s victory in the November 8 election, Ryan had said Medicare is an “issue that we have to tackle."
Over the past several years, several prominent lawmakers like Ryan have proposed making cuts to Medicare and transforming the program into a premium support system. During his time as a member of the Senate, Price was a leading advocate for policies that would privatize Medicare.
While certain Republicans may privately favor changes to Medicare, any legislation that significantly changes the public insurance program for elderly patients would face stiff resistance. In a recent statement, a spokesman for AARP told members that the group was encouraged by reports that the Trump budget would not touch Medicare and that it would fight any changes attempted by Congress.
While Trump is not concretely linked to a specific plan when it comes to Medicare reform, or healthcare reform in general, many Republican lawmakers have eyed spending by the program for cuts. However, Medicare is largely popular among the elderly and voters in general. More than 50% of respondents to a recent Gallup poll said that they would prefer if only small changes were made to Medicare or if the program made not attempts to control costs at all.
Author
Luke Gale
Published
March 7, 2017
Dive Brief:
HHS Secretary Tom Price said during an interview with CBS Face the Nation that the Trump administration “believes in the guarantee of Medicare for our seniors."
President Donald Trump indicated during a recent address to Congress that his administration did not have interest in making changes to Medicare.
While the most recent iteration of healthcare reform being floated by House Republicans does not make significant changes to Medicare, House Speaker Paul Ryan said the future of Medicare is an “open question,” according to CBS.
Dive Insight:
Unless Price and Trump are misleading the public, it appears that healthcare reform that significantly transforms Medicare will not make it past the President’s desk. Following Trump’s victory in the November 8 election, Ryan had said Medicare is an “issue that we have to tackle."
Over the past several years, several prominent lawmakers like Ryan have proposed making cuts to Medicare and transforming the program into a premium support system. During his time as a member of the Senate, Price was a leading advocate for policies that would privatize Medicare.
While certain Republicans may privately favor changes to Medicare, any legislation that significantly changes the public insurance program for elderly patients would face stiff resistance. In a recent statement, a spokesman for AARP told members that the group was encouraged by reports that the Trump budget would not touch Medicare and that it would fight any changes attempted by Congress.
While Trump is not concretely linked to a specific plan when it comes to Medicare reform, or healthcare reform in general, many Republican lawmakers have eyed spending by the program for cuts. However, Medicare is largely popular among the elderly and voters in general. More than 50% of respondents to a recent Gallup poll said that they would prefer if only small changes were made to Medicare or if the program made not attempts to control costs at all.