#premium support

Hey there and here you go:

Conservative groups propose outrageous cuts to vital programs for seniors and the working class.

The Trump administration is signaling it will pursue significant changes to Medicare that could put beneficiaries on the hook for higher costs.

In an informal proposal on Wednesday, federal health officials hinted at several new pilot programs it may implement in the months ahead. One idea would give doctors more latitude to enter into so-called private contracts to charge Medicare beneficiaries more for certain services, if the patients were willing to pay. Elsewhere in the document, officials indicated they might offer more incentives to encourage beneficiaries to join private Medicare plans, known as Medicare Advantage plans. Democrats and other experts said the language suggested interest in the controversial “premium support” model long favored by Republican policymakers.

via PBS.

Related Reading:

House Leadership Recklessly Pursues Privatization of Medicare in Budget Process.

via Washington Post.

Flashback to 5/16/2017:

Paul Ryan's Medicare Privatization Scheme Edging Closer to Reality.

Life is hard enough for many struggling families; GOP Budget is certain to make their lives even harder.

via House Budget Democrats twitter.

The GOP House Budget includes turning Medicare in CouponCare or a voucher which would privatize the program.

What is Medicare Privatization? Find out here.

How does the White House feel about Medicare privatization? 

We look at Vice President Pence’s long history attacking Social Security & Medicare.

Republicans in Congress, under pressure to fund massive tax cuts and increases in military spending, are looking to slash more than $400 billion from the federal budget next year — and social safety net programs like food stamps and housing assistance are on the butcher's block, Politico reported...

...The budget proposal will also likely include House Speaker Paul Ryan's pet project to privatize Medicare, but in a largely symbolic capacity. So far Trump has refused to let Republicans touch programs like Medicare and Social Security, but his own White House budget director Mick Mulvaney "has tried to convince the president of the merits of such reforms," Politico reported.

via MIC DOT COM.

Related Reading:

These vouchers could never keep pace with rising premiums, meaning seniors would have to cover the difference or drop health insurance entirely.  Older and sicker seniors would likely remain in conventional Medicare, causing the program’s cost to skyrocket, benefits to be cut, and eventually the death of Medicare itself.