Debt Panel Members Propose Medicare Becoming a Voucher Program
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Two members of President Barack Obama’s debt commission have proposed converting Medicare into a voucher program in a bid to slow the growth in health-care costs.
The plan, by Wisconsin Republican Representative Paul Ryan and former Congressional Budget Office Director Alice Rivlin, would create a program in which those turning 65 after Jan. 1, 2021, would receive a fixed payment from the government to purchase health insurance instead of enrolling in Medicare. Those currently aged 55 and older would continue to participate in traditional Medicare.