The Bipartisan Policy Center released a debt reduction
proposal that includes several healthcare-related spending cuts.
Some of the panel's proposed cuts include increasing Medicare Part B premiums
by 25% to 35% of program costs, bundling Medicare payments for post-acute care
into the payment for in-patient care, removing barriers to managed care options
for dual-eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and slowing Medicaid cost
growth by one percentage point per year, according to the proposal. The
recommendations are the product of a task force co-chaired by former Senate
Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) and former White House budget
director Alice Rivlin.
The Bipartisan Policy Center's proposal is the
second
such proposal to be released in as many weeks. The National Commission for
Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which was created by an executive order from
President Obama February, released a report last week. That report's
recommendations included accelerating home health care cuts and putting caps on
federal Medicaid spending for long-term care.