Wyden and Ryan join forces on new Medicare overhaul plan

The plan, which is being advanced by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., involves a framework that would offer traditional, government-run Medicare as an option for future retirees along with a variety of private plans. They are billing their approach as a means to prevent Medicare spending from swamping the federal budget. Meanwhile, early analyses indicate it could potentially create higher out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries.

The New York Times: Lawmakers Offer Bipartisan Plan To Overhaul Medicare
A Democratic senator, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and a Republican member of the House, Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, unveiled a bipartisan plan on Wednesday to revamp Medicare and make a fixed federal contribution to the cost of coverage for each beneficiary (Pear, 12/14).

The Washington Post: Paul Ryan To Announce New Approach To Preserving Medicare
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, who has been castigated by Democrats and hailed by Republicans for his plan to privatize Medicare, will on Thursday unveil a new approach that would preserve the 46-year-old federal health program. Working with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), the Wisconsin Republican is developing a framework that would offer traditional, government-run Medicare as an option for future retirees along with a variety of private plans (Montgomery, 12/14).

Los Angeles Times: Paul Ryan Partners With Leading Democrat On Medicare Overhaul
Ryan and Wyden, who plan to discuss their plan Friday morning at a Bipartisan Policy Center breakfast, are billing the proposal as a crucial bipartisan effort to prevent Medicare spending from swamping the federal budget. "What we are trying to do here is plant the seeds for bipartisan consensus to save Medicare," said Ryan, who earlier this year put forward a more radical voucher proposal that was adopted by House Republicans and pilloried by Democrats for essentially privatizing the federal program (Levey, 12/14).

The Wall Street Journal: Ryan Revises Medicare Plan
The concept, which is backed by Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, steps back from the House budget chairman's previous plan to end the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program for future retirees and replace it with subsidies starting at $8,000 that seniors would use to purchase private health plans. That subsidy wasn't guaranteed to keep pace with the rate of health-care inflation, leaving beneficiaries potentially to face higher out-of-pocket costs (Radnofsky and Weisman, 12/15).

Politico: Ryan, Wyden Back A New Medicare Option
The plan has some key differences from the Ryan blueprint that Republicans had rallied around earlier this year -; and which Democrats had been united in pummeling in Congress and on the campaign trail as the beginning of the end of Medicare. The biggest difference is that seniors would have a choice between staying in traditional Medicare, or opting into new private plan alternatives, the two lawmakers said in an interview with Politico (Haberkorn, 12/14).

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Wyden Joins Forces With Ryan On Medicare
In a move that could hurt Democrats' ability to campaign against Republicans on Medicare in next fall's elections, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden is teaming up with Republican Rep. Paul Ryan on a Medicare overhaul plan that would give beneficiaries a set amount to use toward buying private coverage or to pay for a traditional fee-for-service plan (Carey, 12/14).

Bloomberg: U.S. Lawmakers Offer Bipartisan Plan For Medicare With Private Option
Representative Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican who heads the House Budget Committee and offered a private insurance system for Medicare in the spring, teamed with Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, on a plan to amend the U.S. health program for the elderly and disabled, the lawmakers said. The proposal, which the lawmakers will present today, may alter the debate in next year's congressional campaign as both parties plan to use their positions on Medicare as an issue for voters (Rowley and Wayne, 12/15).

The Hill: Paul Ryan Moves Away From Controversial Medicare Reform Plan
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is moving away from his controversial plan to end traditional Medicare, putting forward a new proposal with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that would keep the federally funded program in place. The plan, which Ryan and Wyden plan to unveil Thursday morning, would give Medicare beneficiaries a choice between today's Medicare and private health plans. Ryan's first Medicare plan would have converted the entire program into subsidies for seniors to buy private insurance (Baker, 12/14).

National Journal: Ryan To Announce Medicare Compromise
[Rep. Paul] Ryan is working with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on a plan that would, starting in 2022, keep the government program as an option for retirees in addition to private plans. Retirees would still receive a set amount of money to buy insurance, a key part of Ryan's budget blueprint which passed the House earlier this year. But the actual subsidy that seniors receive would fluctuate with the costs of their policies. This would provide more protection for seniors, and possibly less budget savings (12/14).

The Associated Press: GOP's Paul Ryan Has A New Plan For Medicare
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan says he has a new plan for Medicare. This time his co-author is Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. ... The new Wyden-Ryan plan would keep traditional Medicare as an option for future retirees and leave the eligibility age at 65. But it also sets up a regulated competition with private insurance. Seniors in private plans would get a fixed payment from the government that's more generous than in Ryan's original plan (12/14).

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ryan Unveils New Medicare Plan That Keeps Traditional Option
Republican House budget chair Paul Ryan has teamed up with Senate Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon to offer what they're billing as a bipartisan approach to overhauling Medicare, an issue that inspires stark partisan divisions in Congress. The plan draws from Ryan's hugely controversial proposal passed by the House earlier this year to turn Medicare from a fee-for-service government insurance program into a premium subsidy for seniors to buy private coverage. But unlike that plan, this new proposal keeps a traditional Medicare policy as an option for seniors who want it (Gilbert, 12/14).

Kaiser Health News: Resources And Proposals On Curbing Medicare Cost Growth
As lawmakers prepare for a new round of battles over health care spending, Kaiser Health News offers a collection of resources on various proposals to control Medicare costs, including the latest information on a new plan by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.(12/14).