Tampering with Part D will Not Solve Our Debt Crisis

Introduction It was clear from the outset that spending reductions in Medicare would be on the table in negotiations over raising the legal limit on U.S. government borrowing. As the first meetings of Vice-President Biden's negotiation committee were being organized, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pointed out that significant changes in Medicare would be needed as part of a "grand bargain" if a debt limit increase was to have a realistic chance of passage through a reluctant Congress. (i)