The Koch-Backed Ryan Budget Would Hurt Florida Seniors

Americans for Prosperity Supported Ryan Budgets that Would Voucherize Medicare

2011

2011: AFP Backed FY 2012 Ryan Budget, Which Replaced Medicare With A Premium Support Plan. According to AFP’s congressional scorecard for the 112th Congress, AFP took a “yes” position the House vote on House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) proposed budget resolution covering fiscal years 2012 to 2021 which included a proposal to replace Medicare with a premium support plan. According to the Congressional Research Service, “Under the new system, Medicare would pay a portion of the beneficiaries’ premiums, i.e., provide ‘premium support.’ The payments would be adjusted for age, health status, and income and would be paid directly by the government to the insurance plan selected by the Medicare beneficiary. In addition, plans with healthier enrollees, would be required to help subsidize plans with less healthy enrollees.” The vote was 2011 House vote 277. [AFP Scorecard for the 112th Congress, 2/1/13; CRS Report #R41767, 4/13/11]

• Wall Street Journal: Ryan Plan “Would Essentially End Medicare.” According to the Wall Street Journal, “Republicans will present this week a 2012 budget proposal that would cut more than $4 trillion from federal spending projected over the next decade and transform the Medicare health program for the elderly, a move that will dramatically reshape the budget debate in Washington. […] The plan would essentially end Medicare, which now pays most of the health-care bills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans, as a program that directly pays those bills. Mr. Ryan and other conservatives say this is necessary because of the program’s soaring costs.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/4/11]

• Ryan’s Budget Eliminated Traditional Medicare And Created A Medicare Exchange On Which Seniors Could Purchase Private Plans. According to the Congressional Research Service, “Individuals who become eligible (based either on age or disability) for Medicare in 2022 and later years would not be able to enroll in the current Medicare program. Instead, they would be given the option of enrolling in a private insurance plan through a newly established Medicare exchange.” [CRS Report #R41767, 4/13/11]

2012

2012: AFP Backed FY 2013 Ryan Budget, Which Proposed Raising The Medicare Eligibility Age To 67 By 2034. According to AFP’s congressional scorecard for the 112th Congress, AFP took a “yes” position on the House vote on House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) proposed budget resolution covering fiscal years 2013 to 2022 which included a proposal to increase the Medicare eligibility age to 67 by 2034. According to the Congressional Research Service, “The budget proposal would gradually increase the Medicare eligibility age to 67. Beginning in 2023, the age of eligibility for Medicare would increase by two months each year until it reached 67 in 2034.” The vote was 2012 House vote 151. [AFP Scorecard for the 112th Congress, 2/1/13; CRS Report #R42441, 3/29/12]

• CBPP: Increasing Medicare Eligibility Age Would Leave Many 65- And 66-Year-Olds Uninsured. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “This means 65- and 66-year-olds would have neither Medicare nor access to health insurance exchanges in which they could buy coverage at an affordable price and receive subsidies to help them secure coverage if their incomes are low. This change would put many more 65- and 66-year-olds who don’t have employer coverage into the individual insurance market, where the premiums charged to people in this age group tend to be extremely high — thereby leaving many of them uninsured.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/20/12]

• Raising The Medicare Eligibility Age To 67 Would Have Resulted In $3.7 Billion In Increased Out-Of-Pocket Costs To Seniors Aged 65 And 66. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “In the aggregate, raising the age of eligibility to 67 in 2014 is projected to result in an estimated net increase of $3.7 billion in out of -pocket costs for those ages 65 and 66 who would otherwise have been covered by Medicare. [Kaiser Family Foundation, 7/11]

• Costs To Employers Would Increase By $4.5 Billion And Costs To States By $700 Million. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “costs to employers are projected to increase by $4.5 billion in 2014 and costs to states are expected to increase by $0.7 billion.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 7/11]

• Increasing The Medicare Eligibility Age Would Raise The Costs Of Healthcare Across The Economy. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “[R]aising Medicare’s eligibility age would not only fail to constrain health care costs across the economy; it would raise them. Medicare provides health coverage more cheaply than private health insurance plans because it has lower administrative costs and pays less to providers. Raising the Medicare age would shift costs to most of the 65- and 66-year olds who would lose Medicare coverage, to remaining Medicare beneficiaries, to employers that provide coverage for their retirees, and to states. These cost increases would, in total, more than offset the savings to the federal government.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/28/12]

Kaiser Family Foundation Study On Ryan Plan’s Effects for Medicare Beneficiaries Found That Florida Would Be Affected The Most By The Plan, With Additional Premiums Exceeding Over $200 Per Month.

A Kaiser Family Foundation Study Was Based On Paul Ryan’s Plan. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “The analysis does not attempt to model any specific proposal, but is generally based on an approach included in House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s fiscal year 2013 budget plan, the proposal Chairman Ryan co-sponsored with Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, and; in the plan put forward by former Senator Pete Domenici and Dr. Alice Rivlin. In the first two proposals, people who are at least 55 years old, including current beneficiaries, would be exempt from the new system. Republican presidential nominee Gov. Mitt Romney has supported a premium-support system along these lines.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 9/30/12]

• The Kaiser Study Found That In Florida “At Least Nine In 10 Medicare Beneficiaries…Would Face Higher Premiums In Their Current Plan.” According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “At least nine in 10 Medicare beneficiaries in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts and New Jersey would face higher premiums in their current plan. Many counties in those states have relatively high per-beneficiary Medicare spending, which would make it more costly to enroll in traditional Medicare rather than one of the low-bidding private plans in those counties. In contrast, in areas with relatively low Medicare per-capita spending, it could be more costly to enroll in a private plan.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 9/30/12]

• Kaiser Found That Florida Would Be Affected The Most By The Ryan Plan, With Additional Premiums Exceeding Over $200 Per Month. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “Premiums for traditional Medicare would vary widely across states and counties, a significant departure from the current program. On average, premiums for beneficiaries enrolled in traditional Medicare would increase by $60 per month ($720 per year), if a premium support system were fully implemented. In four states (AK, DE, HI and WY) plus the District of Columbia, premiums for traditional Medicare would not increase, but, for beneficiaries in six states (CA, FL, MI, NJ, NV and NY), average additional premiums for traditional Medicare would exceed $100 per month, and in the case of Florida, would exceed $200 per month.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2012]

• Kaiser Found That Medicare Beneficiaries In Miami-Dade County Would Pay The Highest Additional Premiums In The Country Under The Ryan Plan, At $492 Per Month. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “For example, beneficiaries in several high-cost counties would pay significantly more to remain in traditional Medicare, including Miami-Dade County, FL ($492 per month), Los Angeles County, CA ($260 per month), Kings County (which includes Brooklyn), NY ($232 per month), Wayne County (which includes Detroit), MI ($211 per month), Orange County, CA ($214 per month) and Riverside County, CA ($161 per month).” [Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2012]

• Kaiser Found That Beneficiaries In Palm Beach County Would Pay An Additional $371 A Month In Premiums Under The Ryan Plan. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the “additional premium to remain in traditional Medicare (monthly)” for Palm-Beach County, FL would be $371. [Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2012]

• Kaiser Found That Beneficiaries In Broward County Would Pay An Additional $405 A Month In Premiums Under The Ryan Plan. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the “additional premium to remain in traditional Medicare (monthly)” for Broward County, FL would be $405. [Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2012]

• Kaiser Found That Beneficiaries In Polk County Would Pay An Additional $245 A Month In Premiums Under The Ryan Plan. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the “additional premium to remain in traditional Medicare (monthly)” for Polk County, FL would be $245. [Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2012]

• Kaiser Found That Beneficiaries In Volusia County Would Pay An Additional $175 A Month In Premiums Under The Ryan Plan. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the “additional premium to remain in traditional Medicare (monthly)” for Volusia County, FL would be $175. [Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2012]

• Kaiser Found That Florida Would Be “At The Extreme,” With Over 77% Of Beneficiaries Subjected To Additional Premiums Over $100 A Month Under The Ryan Plan. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “While more than one in four (27%) beneficiaries nationwide would be subject to additional premiums of $100 or more per month, this ranges from less than 14 percent of beneficiaries in 29 states and the District of Columbia, to more than 45 percent in 5 states (CA, CT, FL, NJ, and NV; Exhibit 4). At the extreme, half or more of beneficiaries in Florida (77%), Nevada (50%), and New Jersey (57%) would be subject to additional premiums of $100 or more per month, if they remained in the same plan.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2012]

• Kaiser Study: “In Florida, The Vast Majority Of Beneficiaries (89%) Would Be Subject To Additional Premiums Of $50 Or More Per Month.” According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “In Florida, the vast majority of beneficiaries (89%) would be subject to additional premiums of $50 or more per month, whereas in the District of Columbia, Delaware, and Alaska, less than 2 percent of beneficiaries would be subject to additional premiums of $50 or more per month.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2012]