WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Patrick Meehan (PA-07) today released the following statement regarding his vote on the proposed Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Resolution passed today by the House of Representatives:

“This proposal is a step in the right direction towards achieving real, bipartisan solutions to create jobs, strengthen and preserve Medicare and Medicaid, and protect our children and grandchildren from a crushing debt burden. The plan will cut $6.2 trillion in spending over the next 10 years.

“This budget blueprint is a good starting point, and now we must work together on the details and implementation. While I do have some concerns about certain aspects of the proposal, I realize that this is just the beginning of a very long process and I am committed to supporting a fair approach that demonstrates a shared sacrifice among all of us to help end our nation’s debt crisis. Our country is currently $14.3 trillion dollars in debt and spending $58,000 dollars per second - we cannot look for a Republican solution or a Democrat solution, but rather we need an American solution.

“It is unfortunate that many have resorted to using scare tactics for political advantage rather than making meaningful efforts toward change and preserving access to quality health care. It is vital that my constituents understand that the adjustments proposed to the Medicare program would not change for those currently enrolled in the program or for those soon to be in it. The only Americans impacted by this reform would be those who are currently under the age of 55, with no change for those now 55 and over. I believe Congress must make responsible changes to Medicare today to preserve it now and for generations to come. According to the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office’s own projections, the Medicare program will go bankrupt in 2021. This plan will help preserve Medicare through competition among health plans for the business of 50 million seniors and by trimming billions in waste and fraud. The payment will be adjusted according to income so that those with less will get more.

“Due to the amount of misinformation about the proposal, particularly the Medicare related provisions, I want to make sure my constituents understand what is actually included in the proposal.”

According to the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis, the key components relating to Medicare are:

·         Starting in 2022, the age of eligibility for Medicare would increase by two months per year until it reached 67 in 2033.

·         People who turn 65 in 2022 or later years and Disability Insurance beneficiaries who become eligible for Medicare in 2022 or later would not enroll in the current Medicare program but instead would be entitled to a premium support payment to help them purchase private health insurance.

·         Beneficiaries of the premium support payments would choose among competing private insurance plans operating in a newly established Medicare exchange. Those plans would have to comply with a standard for benefits set by the Office of Personnel Management. Plans would have to issue insurance to all people eligible for Medicare who applied and would have to charge the same premiums for all enrollees of the same age.

·         The premium support payments would vary with the health status of the beneficiary. In addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would collect fees from plans with healthier enrollees, on average, and convey the proceeds to plans with less healthy enrollees, on average, with the goal of appropriately compensating plans for the health risks of their insured population.

·         The payment for 65-year-olds in 2022 is specified to be $8,000, on average, which is approximately the same dollar amount as projected net federal spending per capita for 65-year-olds in traditional Medicare under current law that year.

·         The premium support payments would also vary with the income of the beneficiary. People in the top 2 percent of the annual income distribution of the Medicare-eligible population would receive 30 percent of the premium support amount described above; people in the next 6 percent of the distribution would receive 50 percent of the amount described above; and people in the remaining 92 percent of the distribution would receive the full premium support amount described above.

·         Beginning in 2022, the federal government would establish a medical savings account, an account that hold deposits that can be used for medical expenses) for certain beneficiaries with low income.

·         Eligibility for the traditional Medicare program would not change for people who are age 55 or older by the end of 2011 or for people who receive Medicare benefits through the Disability Insurance program prior to 2022.

“I want to emphasize that the proposal approved today by the House of Representatives is a blueprint. Now the real work begins. Congress, working together in a bipartisan manner, will continue efforts to address our nation’s debt crisis, remove barriers to job growth and boost our country’s economic recovery.  Next week, I am holding a series of town hall meetings to talk about this and other issues. I look forward to discussing this budget framework with the people of the 7^th district.”

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