Ryan's Medicare plan said to back away from age cutoff

Politico: Sources: No Medicare Age Shift In Paul Ryan Budget
Rep. Paul Ryan's budget is now expected to exempt seniors 55 years old and above from his Medicare overhaul - despite his personal preference to raise that age to 56 - according to several GOP sources familiar with his plans. For years, the House Budget Committee chairman has sought to transform Medicare from its current fee-for-service format to one in which the government would give seniors limited subsidies to buy private insurance. The key political caveat: No one within a decade of the Medicare eligibility age of 65 would have been affected by the overhaul the Wisconsin Republican envisioned (Sherman and Allen, 3/5).

The Medicare NewsGroup: Rewind, Rehash And Reject: No Movement Expected On Medicare Reform In 2014 Budget
At least one thing is certain in this congressional budget season: disagreement will be the order of the day. The president and Congressional leaders have already failed to avert billions in across-the-board spending cuts under sequestration, setting the stage for more fighting over how to shrink the deficit. When it comes to Medicare reform, most experts say that they expect to see the same plans that lawmakers laid on the table last year and they don't expect that the feuding parties will reconcile their considerable differences. GOP congressional members have already pulled out old ideas, blown off the dust and called them by different names. Since the election, Republicans have reintroduced premium support proposals under the new moniker "competitive bidding." Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and the House Republicans are poised to be the first out of the gate with another premium support proposal (Adamopoulos, 3/5).