COFFERS

GOP Budget to Tackle Medicaid

Could cut $1 trillion over 10 years.

Even before the war over 2011's budget is resolved, the 2012 budget debate is heating up. On Tuesday, House Republicans are set to unveil a 2012 budget plan that would propose dramatic changes to entitlement programs, a political third rail that has not been addressed in previous legislation. The plan, championed by Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), would replace Medicare, the health-care program for seniors, with a private voucher program. As for Medicaid, the plan aims to cut as much a $1 trillion from the low-income program by routing federal money to large block grants. The plan reportedly wouldn’t change Social Security in a significant way.