A push by the Republican-controlled Congress to privatize Medicare won’t be supported with Democratic votes, according to House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
In an interview with Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent, Pelosi said if the hints from House Speaker Paul Ryan on privatization turn into real legislation, her caucus will be united against it. She compared it to what happened when President George W. Bush tried to privatize Social Security after the 2004 election.
“He gave us an opportunity by saying he would partially privatize Social Security. Everybody stuck together. The opportunity that we have now is the equivalent of the opportunity we had in ’05,” Pelosi said.
Ryan has falsely claimed Medicare is “going broke” because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and repealing that law would have to involve Medicare changes, including expanding Medicare Advantage or offering ACA-like subsidies to current beneficiaries to buy private insurance.
For more on how Pelosi expects Republicans to react to united opposition to a Medicare overhaul, click on the link below:
John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.