Calling something a “bipartisan reform” is quickly becoming Washington-speak for “cutting your health care and retirement benefits.”

In this next phase of the fiscal showdown, Republicans are continuing to threaten to tank the economy, starting with demands they want in exchange for more tax giveaways for the wealthiest 2%.

Yesterday, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, floated proposals for deep cuts to Medicare and Medicaid under the pretense he’s “reforming” the programs. Let’s be clear: If you’re cutting Medicare and Medicaid in the name of deficit reduction, it’s pretty obvious you don’t care about strengthening and improving health care benefits.

The first cut Hatch proposes would force seniors to wait until age 67 to enroll in the Medicare program. This is a strange proposal for producing savings since delaying Medicare eligibility for two years will actually increase overall health care costs, not lower them. The increase in total costs would be twice as much as the savings: $11.4 billion in 2014 (if the higher age were fully in effect), compared with $5.7 billion. This is an absurd waste of money. The only people it would benefit are providers, who could charge higher prices for 65- and 66-year-olds.

Another proposed cut from Hatch is per capita caps for Medicaid. This means states will get less Medicaid funding from the federal government, forcing them to cut health care benefits for low-income families and children.

If Republicans are really looking for savings, they should focus on closing loopholes for Wall Street, drug companies and the richest 2% of Americans, not from budget cuts that threaten the 98% (such as cuts to education and vital services for low-income people) or cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Here are a few examples of loopholes that should be closed:

• Close tax loopholes that allow U.S. corporations to lower their effective tax rate when they send jobs overseas.
• Close tax loopholes to make Wall Street firms pay their fair share in taxes.
• Limit tax deductions for the richest 2% of Americans.
• Close the loophole that prohibits Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.

Learn more about the upcoming budget fight.