To join Annie in standing up for Medicare, click here.

The House Republican budget, announced on Tuesday, would end Medicare as we know it. Like last year, it aims to replace Medicare with a privatized voucher system that would both cost seniors more and undermine the Medicare program. Here are the key points:

• Vouchers will not keep up with healthcare costs: Seniors would be given a fixed amount to pay for private health insurance coverage, which would not be enough to keep pace with the projected rise in healthcare costs. Seniors would have to pay the difference out of their own pockets.
• Vouchers may not even cover basic Medicare premiums: Under the plan, the value of the vouchers would be limited to the cost of the second-cheapest private plan or traditional Medicare. So if two private plans were cheaper than traditional Medicare, seniors who want to continue to choose Medicare would be left out-of-pocket.
• This scheme would undermine Medicare: Wealthier and healthier seniors are more likely to purchase private plans, while middle class seniors would be more likely to remain on Medicare. This would increase Medicare’s costs, force Medicare to raise premiums, and limit its ability to control costs.

Last week we interviewed Dr. Bob Englund, of Cheshire Medical Center, who has extensive experience with Medicare. Here is his perspective on how the Ryan budget would affect the program:

And the Republicans’ budget would not just dismantle Medicare. Here are just a few examples of the other ways in which the plan would hurt the middle class:

• All Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthy would be made permanent.
• The top corporate income tax rate would be lowered from 35% to 25%.
• Medicaid would be turned into a block grant program, which would cut federal support by about 45% — affecting 19 million people.
• The Affordable Care Act would be repealed.
• The Department of Education would lose more than $115 billion in funding over a decade, affecting student loans and Pell Grants.

This is not the fair way to reduce spending. We need to send a strong message - to join Annie in standing up for Medicare and the middle class, sign her letter to Congressman Bass and House Republicans before we deliver it to his office on Monday: kusterforcongress.com/medicare

What do you think about the Ryan budget proposal? Leave a comment below: