Democratic Caucus Seniors Task Force Co-Chairs Statement on Ryan-Wyden Medicare Proposal
Today, House Democratic Caucus Seniors Task Force co-chairs Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) released the following statement in response to a plan to overhaul Medicare proposed by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR.):
“We share in the concerns expressed by President Obama. The plan announced today ‘would undermine, rather than strengthen, Medicare’, and is a poorly-disguised version of Paul Ryan’s plan to eliminate Medicare.
The Ryan-Wyden plan would raise Medicare premiums, forcing seniors into private plans where there are no guaranteed benefits. Furthermore, it will make it impossible for Medicare to continue to provide low-cost care for seniors, and it will make seniors carry a greater burden of costs.
We should be strengthening Medicare and protecting our seniors by making the types of reforms established in the Affordable Care Act, not putting in place a plan that will ultimately drive our seniors out of Medicare and into the private market.
The Ryan-Wyden plan is based on a faulty diagnosis and faulty logic – it is no wonder that it proposes the wrong solution.”
