Newt Gingrich will not be endorsing Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget proposal. In a Facebook note, Gingrich credits Ryan for realizing that entitlement spending must be tackled, but makes it clear that he’s not behind Ryan’s proposal to transform Medicare by giving all senior citizens vouchers to purchase health insurance.
“One option is for Congress to move towards a 21st Century personal Medicare system that would allow seniors to choose, on a voluntary basis, a more personal system with greater options for better care,” Gingrich said [emphasis added].
Under the Ryan budget, all Americans now younger than 55 would be required to use the new “voucherized” Medicare.
Gingrich also expressed his support for using spending cuts as a bargaining chip in agreeing to raise the debt ceiling, saying that “the Republicans should not agree to vote for raising the debt ceiling without getting very significant changes in the current spending trajectory.”
He also expressed support for switching Medicaid funding to block grants to the states.