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Investing.com -- Senate Republicans are contemplating reductions in Medicare spending as a means to finance President Donald Trump’s key legislative package, noted a report from Bloomberg. This move is being cautiously pursued, as the lawmakers broaden their search for savings to a health insurance program that is widely used by Americans in their retirement years. They present this move as an effort to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, which includes reducing payments to health insurance companies that manage private Medicare plans.
This strategic shift could potentially unlock hundreds of billions of dollars in savings for the federal government. These savings could then be utilized by Republicans to finance tax cuts. However, Senate Republicans are split on whether to include changes to Medicare Advantage in the tax bill, according to three individuals privy to the discussion.
House Republicans, in their version of the legislation, largely steered clear of the widely used Medicare program. Instead, they sought cuts in the Medicaid health insurance program, which caters to low-income and disabled individuals, and in food assistance for the underprivileged. These cuts were also portrayed as efforts to reduce waste, a characterization that many advocates of these programs dispute.
One prominent proposal among Senate Republicans involves tightening restrictions on private Medicare Advantage insurers. The aim is to make it more difficult for these insurers to exploit the federal subsidy system by overstating the health challenges their enrollees face, according to Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
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