The False Choice Between Existing Medicare and Ryan’s Proposal

Kathryn Nix / April 21, 2011

Yesterday, Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein used a recent poll to argue that Americans oppose House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R–WI) proposal to transform Medicare into a defined-contribution system, where seniors choose the health plan that best suits their needs. But, as always, the devil is in the details.

The Washington Post–ABC News poll gave respondents the following options: “Medicare should remain as it is today, with a defined set of benefits for people over 65, OR Medicare should be changed so that people over 65 would receive a check or voucher from the government each year for a fixed amount they can use to shop for their own private health insurance policy.”

In response, 65 percent said Medicare should be left untouched, with 34 percent preferring a defined-contribution approach. When asked generally if they would support cutting spending on the Medicare program in order to reduce the national debt, 78 percent said they opposed it.

The problem is, this represents a false choice between a feasible scenario and an impossible one. Experts on both sides of the aisle acknowledge that it is not possible to sustain Medicare in its current form. (more…)