Ways and Means to hit Sebelius on Medicare stewardship next week

The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday in which House Republicans are expected to criticize Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius over the Obama administration’s stewardship of Medicare.

“Given that the president’s plan does nothing to protect and save the Medicare program for future generations, it will be interesting to learn why the administration is content to end Medicare as we know it,” Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said in announcing the hearing.

“While the administration turns a blind eye to Medicare and the seniors it serves, they are aggressively pushing forward with implementation of their healthcare law, despite the Supreme Court reviewing its constitutionality, resistance from many states and opposition from the American people.”

The hearing will mark the first chance for Sebelius to testify about her department’s budget since the Obama administration released its FY 2013 budget proposal on Feb. 13.

Medicare, programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and others fall under Ways & Means’s jurisdiction.