Thursday, April 14, 2011

Shorter Ryan

James Kwak reduces it to handy twitterable length:

The bottom line is that the Ryan Plan increases beneficiary costs more than it reduces government costs.
Unbelievable?  Here are the underlying CBO projections:

In 2030, under current law, a 65-year-old Medicare beneficiary’s health care will cost $60. (Obviously, this is using an index, not real dollars.) Medicare will pay $35 and the beneficiary will pay $25 in Part B premiums and cost sharing. Under the CBO’s more likely “alternative fiscal scenario,” her health care will cost $71, of which Medicare will pay $41. Under the Ryan plan, the same health care purchased in the private market will cost $100; “Medicare” will give her a $32 voucher, and she’ll pay the last $68 on her own.
Privatization, it's wonderful.

Read Kwak's whole post for some real clarity on the severable problems of Medicare funding and healthcare inflation.

No comments:

Post a Comment