Max Baucus: “today more than 47 million Americans rely on Medicare for their health care. For more than 45 years, seniors have had…”

“today more than 47 million Americans rely on Medicare for their health care. For more than 45 years, seniors have had access to the affordable, dependable health care Medicare provides. We all recognize the cost of health care. We know it is growing and growing too rapidly. The landmark health reform law we passed recently took bold steps to rein in costs, and I am eager to work with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to further reduce health care costs, increase efficiency, and root out the fraud and waste. Last week, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, Congressman Paul Ryan, proposed a plan that would end Medicare as we know it. Rather than providing affordable health care paid for by Medicare, as is the case today, under the Ryan plan, seniors would receive a voucher to purchase private health insurance--again, not health care benefits provided for under Medicare but, rather, receive a voucher to purchase private health insurance from private health insurance companies. Unfortunately, this voucher would fall far short of covering health care costs for seniors. According to the independent Congressional Budget Office, under the Ryan plan, ``Most elderly people would pay more''--I might add, much more--``for their health care than they would pay under the current Medicare system.'' How much more?…”