Senator warns against simultaneous
overhaul of Medicare and Obamacare
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[December 02, 2016]
By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. Senate
Republican warned his party on Thursday against simultaneously
overhauling Medicare and the Obamacare health insurance program, saying
this would be "biting off more than you can chew."
The cautionary comments from Senator Lamar Alexander came after House
Speaker Paul Ryan, long an advocate of privatize Medicare, said
Republican lawmakers would be discussing reforms of the health insurance
program for the elderly with President-elect Donald Trump's
administration.
Republicans won the White House as well as keeping their majorities in
both houses of Congress in elections last month, and are now busy
preparing an agenda for next year after the new Congress is sworn in on
Jan. 3 and Trump takes office Jan. 20.
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"Well, of course it’s up to the speaker and Senator (Mitch) McConnell
(the majority leader) what our agenda is, but my advice to them would
be, save Medicare for another day," Alexander, chairman of the Senate's
health, education, labor and pensions committee, told reporters in a
Capitol hallway.
Medicare serves more than 50 million Americans who are elderly or
disabled. More than one-third of them are in Medicare Advantage plans
run by private insurers like UnitedHealth Group Inc. The balance receive
medical benefits directly from Medicare on a traditional fee-for-service
basis.
The government has been trying to cut spending on the program, which
rises each year with the cost of medical services and drugs.
"We want to begin immediately to repeal Obamacare," Alexander said.
"Trying to deal with the solvency issues in Medicare at the same time
falls into the category of biting off more than you can chew ... a
little humility here would be in order, we can’t do everything at once
and we shouldn’t try."
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![](../images/120216pics/news_x43.jpg)
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) speaks during the Reuters Washington
Summit in Washington November 9, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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Ryan earlier Thursday said that Medicare was on a path to going
bankrupt around 2028, and needed reform, a repeat of his
long-standing stance. He wants to convert the fee-for-service
program into a system of subsidies for seniors, to buy coverage from
private insurers or a scaled-back Medicare.
Democrats including Senator Chuck Schumer have seized on the fact
that Trump's nominee to head the Health and Human Services
department - Representative Tom Price - supports major changes to
Medicare, to warn Republicans against privatizing the program.
Alexander also said that while Republicans will move quickly to
repeal Obamacare, the repeal probably would not take effect for two
or three years, during which time lawmakers can work on a
replacement plan.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Tom Brown)
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