DEFINE THE CONTRIBUTION:

G.O.P. Blueprint Would Remake Health Policy (ROBERT PEAR, 4/04/11, NY Times)

Republicans say the health care proposals would help the federal government predict and control its costs under Medicaid and Medicare, which insure more than 100 million people and account for more than one-fifth of the federal budget.

But if, as many economists predict, health costs continue to rise at a rapid clip, beneficiaries of these programs would be at risk for more of the costs.

Mr. Ryan said his Medicare proposal was similar to one he advanced in November with Alice M. Rivlin, a budget director in the Clinton administration. Analyzing that plan, the Congressional Budget Office said, “Federal payments would tend to grow more slowly under the proposal than projected costs per enrollee under current law.” As a result, the budget office said, “enrollees’ spending for health care — and the uncertainty surrounding that spending — would increase.”

Medicaid and Medicare are now open-ended entitlements. Anyone who meets the eligibility criteria is entitled to benefits defined in detail by federal law.

Where are the economists who would predict such rapid rate increases if individuals bore the costs themselves?

Posted by oj at April 5, 2011 7:01 PM
Tweet   

Follow @brothersjudd