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Business Roundtable backs Medicare privatization
Business Roundtable, a trade group that represents corporate CEOs, said Wednesday that Medicare should be overhauled along the lines of Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) controversial proposal.
The Ryan-like Medicare plan is one of several entitlement cuts Business Roundtable endorsed in a new proposal. The group also backed the so-called "chained CPI," which would change the way Social Security benefits are calculated.
And it said the eligibility age for both Medicare and Social Security should rise to 70. Medicare eligibility is now set at 65, and congressional Democrats have fought hard against proposals to gradually raise it to 67.
BRT proposed raising the age by another three years but phasing in the change over the same time period. The changes would not affect anyone who is currently older than 55.
Chained CPI and even the higher Medicare age could find their way into upcoming negotiations over spending cuts to accompany an increase in the country's borrowing limit or to avert a government shutdown. The broader Medicare plan BRT endorsed, however, is a non-starter on the Hill.
BRT said the traditional Medicare program should compete with private plans — similar to the controversial plan outlined by Ryan. He wants to see Medicare converted into a system of subsidies for private insurance, with the existing program preserved as an option.
BRT also endorsed more Medicare means-testing — an idea with bipartisan support.
