Don’t look to Ryancare to cut health care costs for seniors
Posted on 06 September 2012
By Mark Miller
Permanent URL of this article: http://retirementrevised.com/money/dont-look-to-ryancare-to-cut-health-care-costs-for-seniors
Here’s the $64,000 question on the Republican plan to voucherize Medicare: Can consumer choice and market competition drive down Medicare costs?
The Romney-Ryan presidential campaign ticket thinks so. If they are right, seniors might not have to pony up thousands of additional dollars per year for the cost of Medicare beyond the voucher’s value. If wrong, there will be a massive cost shift to seniors to make up for the market’s failure.
Fortunately, we don’t have to implement Paul Ryan’s premium support plan to get an answer. That’s because there’s already plenty of competition in Medicare and it has not resulted in lower costs, according to recent evidence. In addition, the competition hasn’t pushed seniors to shop effectively for low-cost options.
So, unless some market magic is around the corner, seniors would have to dig deep into their wallets under a Ryancare plan. Learn more at Reuters Money.
