WASHINGTON - In a letter dated Friday, October 14, U.S. Senators Bob Corker, R-Tenn., ranking member of the Special Committee on Aging, asked the co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to achieve at least $4 trillion in total deficit reduction through spending cuts, pro-growth tax reform, and necessary reforms to entitlement programs, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The Aging Committee held a hearing, “A Time for Solutions: Finding Consensus in the Medicare Reform Debate,” on October 12 featuring a diverse panel of experts from both ends of the political spectrum who presented their proposals to reform Medicare, a program with $38 trillion in unfunded liabilities that will be insolvent in 2024. Corker included some of these proposals, which he considers to be common-sense solutions that many people agree can be enacted to preserve Medicare, in his letter. Taken together, these Medicare proposals would save an estimated $300 to $400 billion total over 10 years. Friday was the deadline for committees to submit recommendations to the select committee.

“I recently joined 44 senators, 22 Republicans, 21 Democrats and one Independent, in asking your committee to achieve at least $4 trillion in total deficit reduction when combined with the $900 billion in savings previously enacted and to also include long-term entitlement reforms and pro-growth tax reform. Building on these overall goals, I would also like to present some specific policy alternatives for controlling both short and long-term growth of Medicare spending that can be embraced by members of both parties,” Corker wrote in the letter.

“These options are ones in which members of both parties may find some agreement, and I hope they will help build consensus for a successful outcome. Depending on the specifics of how these policies were implemented, they could produce $300-$400 billion in savings over the first ten year budget window. The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction’s progress on deficit reduction, including reducing the unsustainable growth in Medicare spending, will demonstrate that we are beginning to put our country back on a fiscally sustainable path.”

A complete copy of the letter is attached.

The proposals are as follows:

Reform Medigap Policies

Limit first-dollar coverage from Medigap plans. Index the deductible and cost-sharing liabilities limits at the same level that spending grows.

Reform Medicare’s Copayment Structure

Create a modem [should this be modern?] benefit structure for Medicare that reduces spending overall. Include a combined annual deductible. Once the deductible is met, a standard coinsurance rate could apply to select services, up to some annual out-of-pocket maximum.

Reduce Medicare Fraud

Increase the ability of CMS to combat waste, fraud, and abuse by providing additional statutory authority and increased resources through a discretionary cap adjustment.

Coordinating Care for Dual-Eligibles and the Chronically III

Allow different models of care coordination for the chronically ill who are not long-term care recipients; Medicaid long-term care and other dual-eligible beneficiaries.

Increase Premiums for High-Income Beneficiaries

Require high-income beneficiaries to pay more without increasing premiums on low-income beneficiaries.

Increase the Eligibility Age

Increase the age of eligibility for Medicare to 67.

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