Medicare overhaul could be part of Congress’s ACA repeal

With Donald Trump winning the presidency and Republicans controlling both houses of Congress, the odds favor a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Whatever replaces it may also address what House Speaker Paul Ryan calls “serious problems” in Medicare.

“When Obamacare became Obamacare, Obamacare rewrote Medicare, rewrote Medicaid, so if you’re going to repeal and replace Obamacare, you have to address those issues as well,” Ryan said in a Fox News interview. “What people don’t realize is that Medicare is going broke, that Medicare is going to have price controls. Because of Obamacare, Medicaid is in fiscal straits. So you have to deal with those issues if you’re going to repeal and replace Obamacare. Medicare has got some serious problems because of Obamacare. Those things are part of our plan to replace Obamacare.”

According to the Washington Post, Ryan has long advocated for reducing benefits and costs within Medicare and Medicaid. His proposals have included expanding Medicare Advantage to completely removing aspects of a single-payer system from Medicare, offering ACA-like subsidies to seniors for private insurance.

While Ryan may be on the same page with Trump on Medicaid reforms, the president-elect has said little about such radical changes to Medicare. For more, click on the link below: