The House of Representatives voted 228-191 to pass Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) fiscal 2013 budget bill that would include extensively revising Medicare and Medicaid while repealing the Affordable Care Act.
Ryan's bill is designed to change Medicare into a "premium support" system starting in 2025. Beneficiaries who will become eligible for Meidcare at that time would choose between fee-for-service Medicare and private insurance plans. If a beneficiary chose a plan, the government would send payment equal to either the cost of traditional Medicare or the second least-expensive private plan, whichever is less. Anyone who chose a plan costing more than the amount of the government's "premium support payment" would have to pay the extra amount.
The proposal would also turn Medicaid into a block-grant program with states receiving a set amount of money to spend for Medicaid.
The controversial bill is widely expected not to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate.
