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Rep. Paul Ryan tackles entitlement reform
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday told business leaders and lobbyists what most lawmakers know but few want to mention: The nation’s entitlement programs are on an unsustainable course, and it’s healthcare, not Social Security, at the root of the trouble.
"Our government spending is going on a tear," said Ryan, speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. "We are going to crush our economy if we continue going down this path."
Ryan dismissed the Democrats' claims that their new health reform law — which the Congressional Budget Office estimated would reduce deficits by $138 billion over 10 years — will save the government money in the long run. He called the legislation "the biggest open-ended entitlement program" in the country's history.
Ryan, the senior Republican on the House Budget Committee, is no stranger to the topic. In February, he introduced a budget bill designed to set the nation's entitlement programs on a sustainable course, largely by privatizing Medicare and Medicaid.
Under Ryan's plan, dubbed the Roadmap for America's Future, those eligible for Medicare after 2020 (meaning those younger than 55 today) would receive vouchers to purchase private insurance coverage, which would effectively replace the government-backed single-payer system that now defines Medicare.
Without reform, Ryan warned, Medicare spending "simply and possibly cannot be sustained."
The latest report from the Medicare trustees, issued before the Democrats passed their reform bill, hints at the severity of the problem. By 2017, according to the group, the trust fund that pays the hospital costs for the nation's seniors will go bankrupt — much sooner than the Social Security trust fund, which is healthy enough to pay full benefits through 2037, according to the trustees' projections.
The next trustees report is due out at the end of June.
