Following the bleak financial analysis of Medicare’s trust fund, Republicans are seemingly giving up on their fight to overhaul Medicare itself. Their cause has not been helped by the announcement that Paul Ryan, the most vocal champion of the issue, will be retiring soon. There had been little movement within the House and Senate prior to the recent financial review, and now a wave of apathy has come over the GOP on the issue. This comes despite Republicans calling for major reforms and new limits on spending throughout all the Obama administration. Furthermore, the GOP’s tax cuts will add $1.5 trillion to the deficit, slowing the flow of money into Medicare, which cares for over 60 million seniors and people with disabilities. Medicare overhaul efforts will also be complicated by campaign pledges made by Trump to not cut the program. Instead, Republicans are turning to the narrative that the long-term future of the program will be secured by a surging economy. However, recent moves to remove the Obamacare penalty for not having insurance will drive up the uninsured rate, thereby increasing the pressure on Medicare payments for uncompensated care. The Republican Party is in disarray, but it does have one bright spot: President Trump. While it seems that Republicans will be forced to rein in their plans for overhaul, there is the possibility that they will take up the policy that the overspend is an indication of the need to tackle Medicare spending. However, it is highly unlikely that any move will be made on this front ahead of the November midterms, and neither chamber has any plans to pass a budget blueprint this year, with some conservatives afraid that GOP leaders may skip it entirely. Any move will be met by the Democrats who claim that the Republicans have shed their concerns about fiscal restraint in pursuit of tax cuts, with the financial future of Medicare an unwitting victim.
Following the bleak financial analysis of Medicare’s trust fund, Republicans are seemingly giving up on their fight to overhaul Medicare itself. Their cause has not been helped by the announcement that Paul Ryan, the most vocal champion of the issue, will be retiring soon. There had been little movement within the House and Senate prior to the recent financial review, and now a wave of apathy has come over the GOP on the issue. This comes despite Republicans calling for major reforms and new limits on spending throughout all the Obama administration. Furthermore, the GOP’s tax cuts will add $1.5 trillion to the deficit, slowing the flow of money into Medicare, which cares for over 60 million seniors and people with disabilities. Medicare overhaul efforts will also be complicated by campaign pledges made by Trump to not cut the program. Instead, Republicans are turning to the narrative that the long-term future of the program will be secured by a surging economy. However, recent moves to remove the Obamacare penalty for not having insurance will drive up the uninsured rate, thereby increasing the pressure on Medicare payments for uncompensated care. For the first time since 1982, Medicare is expected to spend more than it raises in revenue and collects in interest. While it seems that Republicans will be forced to rein in their plans for overhaul, there is the possibility that they will take up the policy that the overspend is an indication of the need to tackle Medicare spending. However, it is highly unlikely that any move will be made on this front ahead of the November midterms, and neither chamber has any plans to pass a budget blueprint this year, with some conservatives afraid that GOP leaders may skip it entirely. Any move will be met by the Democrats who claim that the Republicans have shed their concerns about fiscal restraint in pursuit of tax cuts, with the financial future of Medicare an unwitting victim.