The countdown to the greatest day in U.S. Speaker of the House and Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan’s life has begun. He’s dreamed about it since his frat days. If all goes as planned, by Christmas, he’ll end both Medicare and Medicaid as we have known them. There’s only one step left until he can claim victory.
As a reminder, Medicare is the program that you pay into your whole life, and then get medical out of when you get old. Medicaid is a program you pay into and then, if you or your children become impoverished, your family can get medical care. For example, Medicaid covers people in nursing homes and children born with serious health issues.
Ryan isn’t a fan of the programs. He thinks they encourage people to be lazy. Of course, he has yet to explain how becoming elderly is due to laziness or how having a child with serious medical needs is due to laziness. Ryan really doesn’t like rich families and corporations having to pay taxes towards programs that help less-rich people. After all, as a rich person grows old, they can likely afford most medical costs, and if a rich person has a child with serious medical needs, his or her deep pockets can cover the costs.
Unfortunately for Ryan, basic economics opposes him; for insurance programs to do what they are meant to do, you can’t cherry pick who is in them. Basic democracy also opposes him; a basic task of any democratic government is to create a system where everyone can access the medical care they need.
To explain where Paul Ryan is in his quest to destroy Medicare and Medicaid, here are the three steps to the Congressional budget process:
- Pass the budget resolution, which outlines where Congress wants more or less spending and taxes.
- Pass the tax bill, which determines exactly how the government will bring in money.
- Pass spending bills, which designate how the government will spend money.
In October, Ryan achieved the first step. The Budget Resolution passed in the House and Senate, calling for “finding savings” in Medicare and Medicaid and cutting taxes.
On Nov. 16, Ryan achieved the second step. The House passed his tax bill, which cuts taxes for the richest American families and corporations. For example, it eliminates the inheritance tax (a tax applied if one inherits more than $5 million). We have an opportunity to stop Ryan in his tracks here: The Senate still needs to pass the tax bill. The Senate stopped the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, but only because people took action. What will happen if we don’t take action and the senate doesn’t stop the tax bill?
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Ryan’s last step will be to pass spending bills that gut Medicare and Medicaid.
Ryan and the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress have signaled they will cut Medicare in two ways:
- Move the eligibility age from 65 to 67.
- Create fixed vouchers instead of paying for procedures.
Vouchers will destroy Medicare; they are fixed amounts of money that won’t change even if medical costs go up (of course, medical costs are skyrocketing). So, for example, suddenly a senior will have a medical bill for $10,000, but a voucher for only $5,000. The $500 billion “savings found” for the government is really just a $500 billion cost to individual seniors.
Congress has signaled a similar strategy for Medicaid through a process called “block grants.” The two biggest, most efficient healthcare systems in America will be rendered basically useless. Let’s steal victory away from Paul Ryan just like we did with the attempted Obamacare repeal!
Please call Ron Johnson and thank him for his courage for being the first Republican senator to publicly oppose this unfair tax bill, and call Tammy Baldwin to thank her for protecting Medicare and Medicaid.
