Health industries back Medicare overhaul similar to Ryan plan

{mosads}The HLC comprises top executives from an array of healthcare companies, including drug manufacturers, insurance plans and hospitals.

The group also endorsed increasing the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. The change would be phased in over roughly a decade. President Obama supported that change during negotiations over the debt ceiling.

The HLC’s proposal would ask seniors to pay more of their Medicare costs and enact new limits on medical malpractice suits, including a cap on non-economic damages. Obama has said he’s open to other versions of tort reform, but not caps on jury awards.

Those four proposals would save the government $410 billion over 10 years — about one-third of the total deficit reduction the supercommittee is looking for — according to the HLC.