Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) vowed to dismiss cries from the left to avoid entitlement reforms in negotiations to reach a fiscal deal.
Durbin said it was not responsible to demand that entitlement reforms be off the table.
“I listened to voices from the left, and many of them say, ‘Don’t touch any of the entitlement programs,’ ” Durbin told MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" on Tuesday. “I don’t think that’s a responsible approach.”
The second-ranking Democratic senator said he wanted to preserve Medicare and Medicaid as programs, but that it was important to find a way to reduce increasing healthcare costs through entitlement reforms.
“When it comes to … Medicare and Medicaid, we’ve got to make certain that we preserve these basic programs — not to go the Paul Ryan route of voucher-izing, leaving seniors vulnerable for the health insurance they cannot find or cannot afford, but make sure we change the program to save the money, reduce the increase in healthcare costs,” he said.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the GOP vice presidential candidate this year, has proposed that seniors be given subsidies to buy insurance on the private market as an alternative to traditional Medicare.
Durbin said one option for reform was to require that wealthier people pay higher Medicare premiums, but was otherwise vague on what reforms he would consider. He said that “more competition” and rewarding “good practices” would bring the costs of healthcare down.
