New report, same story: The Ryan Medicare plan hikes health costs for seniors

Rep. Johnson cites new Kaiser Foundation study showing the Ryan-Republican Medicare plan will increase premiums for millions of seniors on Medicare

LITHONIA, GA – With new evidence that the Ryan-Republican Medicare plan will increase premiums for millions of America’s seniors, Rep. Johnson reiterated his pledge to stand firm to protect and strengthen Medicare for seniors today and into the future.   

Yesterday, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a report stating that 59 percent of Medicare beneficiaries would be paying higher Medicare premiums today if they remained in their current plan had the Ryan-House Republicans voucher plan been enacted in 2010. Seniors in Florida would have to pay more than $200 extra per month to maintain their traditional Medicare coverage, with seniors in California, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, and New York having to pay more than $100 extra per month.

“The Kaiser Foundation report confirms what seniors already knew: the Ryan-Republican agenda ends the Medicare guarantee, turning Medicare into a voucher program, putting seniors at the mercy of insurance companies and forcing them to pay more,” Rep. Johnson said.  “Make no mistake: House Republicans will not stop until they end Medicare as we know it.”

By transforming Medicare into a voucher system, the Ryan plan – endorsed by Governor Mitt Romney and supported by nearly every Republican in the House – would end guaranteed benefits for seniors while leading to higher costs for seniors across the country, according to the Kaiser study. 

Rep. Johnson added: “Americans have contributed to Medicare their entire lives and Democrats will ensure that it will be there for them when they retire. Democrats created Medicare; we have preserved and strengthened Medicare; and we will defend Medicare, now and in the future.”

Over time, the Ryan Medicare plan would cost seniors thousands of dollars more, on average, for their health care.  In contrast, the Affordable Care Act, passed by congressional Democrats and signed by President Obama, extends the solvency of Medicare by nearly a decade, reduces the costs of prescription drugs for seniors, and offers a wide range of critical preventive services for seniors, like annual check-ups and mammograms, free of charge.

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