HA HA! Tommy Thompson Can’t Detail New Medicare Plan Until He Uses ‘The Computers’ In Congress
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/10/20/1054131/us-senate-candidate-cant-detail-new-medicare-plan-until-he-uses-the-computers-in-congress/
U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson unveiled a new Medicare reform plan during an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal editorial board on Friday, though he didnt know if the proposal would reduce federal spending or substantially lower costs for beneficiaries.
Thompsons idea, which he said has been already introduced and advanced by somebody else, barrows from Paul Ryans premium support model, and would allow seniors to find private coverage. But rather than building a new exchange of private plans, as Ryan has proposed, Thompson would give future retirees access to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHB) a program through which private insurers market health plans to federal employees.
Pressed for more specifics, the former governor and Health and Human Services Secretary grew agitated and admitted that he couldnt be sure that the proposal would reduce spending. He promised to use the computers in Congress to run the numbers, adding, Its a plan that I believe more than likely will work:
Q: So either CBO has scored it out and you havent, or you
THOMPSON: I havent scored it out, I have no capabilities
Q: Youre saying that CBO has looked at your plan
.
THOMPSON: They have not looked at my plan. They have looked at a plan similar to this that was put in by
Dee, Im telling you, I have not scored it. Im laying the plan out to save Medicare
.This is a plan by Paul Ryan, Ive modified it. I think my plan is better
. When Im elected to the United States Senate, I have a chance to use the computers and have the access to CBO and Ill be able to make the necessary things. Im talking conceptually, about an idea out there that has been advanced by somebody else and I think it makes a lot of sense.
Q: So if you havent scored it and you dont know how much its going to save, how do you know its going to be a big advance?
THOMPSON: Because Medicare is going broke and we have to do something about it. Its a plan, Dee. Its a plan that I believe more than likely will work.