House Republican centrists expressed concern during a conference meeting Tuesday when Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) informed them that the party’s new Medicare privatization plan may apply to Americans older than 55, according to The Hill.
“Paul Ryan was pretty clear that that could happen. You could have to take it up to a higher number like 56, 57, 59 … it could be higher than 55, but he also said, ‘We don’t have any numbers yet,'” an unnamed Republican lawmaker in the meeting told the paper.
“A lot of people had made commitments at 55. In other words, in the campaign [Republican vulnerable members] said it wouldn’t affect your Medicare for retirees or near retirees for those 55 and up … and [if] this budget forces them to renege on that, that would be problematic for many.”
Ryan’s office told TPM that the plan won’t affect those “in or near retirement” — but left the door open to raising the age from 55. No decisions are final yet, aides say.
