Quantcast
Channel: Ithinkoutloud
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 24

So What's Happening with Lowering Medicare Eligibility Age to 60, as Promised?

0
0

Anyone know the status of Biden’s efforts to lower the Medicare Eligibility age to 60 as promised? Millions of voters in the 50-60 age group whose health insurance hinges on continued employment in an economy increasingly hostile to the older workers voted for the President in no small part because of this promise. I haven’t heard word one about it from Biden and now his Administration since November.

Obviously, there is much to do with the messes Trump left everywhere, most notably the Covid pandemic. Nevertheless, I hate to see this critical policy promise go by the wayside due to a lack of public pressure. According to this article, State of Connecticut Healthcare Advocate Ted Doolittle has said lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 60  “would considerably strengthen the program financially,” adding that expanding Medicare would also create more competition against job-based insurance. Despite that, this State Health Care “Advocate” is pessimistic believing the proposal is going to have to jump through too many hoops, like hospital lobbyists and drug companies.

“It’d be politically a very heavy lift,” Doolittle said. “Maybe we can have this conversation in four or eight years.”

First, with healthcare advocate “advocates” like this why would the private health insurance industry need lobbyists at all? Second, waiting four to eight years is pretty much the biggest slap in the face the Biden Administration could possibly administer to the over 50 younger than 63 1/2s who voted for the President and for whom this issue is important.

The same article goes on to quote a retired ophthalmologist, presumably already Medicare enrolled, agreeing that enrolling 60-65 year-olds would bolster Medicare financially, but expressing concern that expansion would encourage people to retire early.

God forbid! I got mine and had to wait, so you must too, even as, year after year, employer-provided health insurance becomes simultaneously more costly and less valuable.

“I would rather see a fair minimum wage [and other incentives to keep people working].”

Oh, thanks for that retired ophthalmologist. Might those “other incentives” include guarantied health insurance on par with Medicare for these older minimum wage earners? Somehow, I doubt it includes any health insurance requirements at all.

Biden was elected to get things done, specifically those things he promised.  As the Connecticut State Health Advocate quoted above observes in the article, the 60-65 age bracket would generally be the healthiest Medicare enrollees, making for a healthier risk pool with lower premiums. Lowering the costs of Medicare while providing guarantied health insurance to 23 million more Americans ages 60 to 65 should be an easy lift, not a heavy one. This is particularly true since lowering the age to 50 enjoys the support of 85% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans according to a Kaiser Foundation poll that is also cited in the article.

I am fine with Covid relief and other things being worked on first. However, I would like some assurance this issue remains on the Administration’s radar, and that Biden and his team are committed to making the fight this year. Time waits for no one, and there is only a limited time in which to make good on this promise to the over 50 voters to whom this matters. And that is not 4-8 years from today.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 24

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images