Van Hollen: Dems may consider Medicare changes

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said in an interview airing this weekend that he would be willing to consider certain changes to Medicare.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” Van Hollen said he might support a proposal to combine Medicare’s parts A and B, which cover hospitals' and doctors’ services, in order to eliminate waste from the program. 

“I would not say ‘no’ off the cuff to that kind of idea,” Van Hollen said. “There may be ways to do and make the program, overall, more efficient.”

But Van Hollen is still wary of a plan that might include cuts. “The devil is in the details,” he said.

The White House has said it is willing to put cuts to Medicare cuts on the table but is reluctant to cut funds to Medicaid.

—The post was updated at 4:18 p.m. to reflect that Van Hollen backed possible changes to Medicare, not cuts.

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