A few weeks ago, Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) introduced a thoroughly panned plan to
raise the age of Medicare eligibility. At a time when more and more older people are facing long-term unemployment, and the loss of health insurance that goes with it, there was good reason for the plan to be panned. It stunk, and a bevy of Dem congressional leaders immediately denounced it. At the time I wrote:
Hopefully the combined reaction of these powerful congressional Dems will tarnish some of the "bipartisan" luster the plan might have for Biden's budget negotiators.
That hope appears to have been in vain. Via Igor Volsky at Think Progress, Inside Health Policy [sub. required] is reporting that the proposal is on the table in the debt ceiling negotiations.
Key negotiators in the debt limit talks are mulling a proposal to raise the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67, a source familiar with the discussions says. Due to the volatility and sensitivity of the negotiations, Inside Health Policy could not confirm whether the White House and Republicans have agreed to include the provision in a final deal.
The idea was floated in a deficit reduction plan recently offered by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Tom Coburn (R-OK). The Congressional Budget Office found that raising the Medicare age to 67 would save $124.8 billion between 2014 and 2021.
Although House Democratic leaders say they’ll reject any Medicare benefit cuts, Republicans are eager to scale back the program and President Obama reportedly hasn’t taken any aspect of Medicare off the table.
Volsky:
If the provision ends up in the final package, Democrats won’t only cede the political debate about the efficacy of privatizing Medicare, they’ll be accepting a portion of the Paul Ryan budget and effectively forcing Americans between 64 and 65 years of age to purchase coverage from private insurers in the state-based exchanges.
Combine that with the Social Security cuts that are reportedly on the table in the form of a chained CPI (a reduction in cost of living increases) and seniors would really be hurting. Volsky points out that the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates a net increase of $5.6 billion in out-of-pocket health expenses for people aged 65-67, and "$4.5 billion in employer retiree health-care costs."
It's cost-shifting to the people who can least afford it, for little benefit since the younger retirees as a whole are healthier and cheaper for Medicare. Volsky reports that the CBO estimates that this plan wouldn't "bend the cost curve" for Medicare: "Even if policy makers increase the age to 70 in 2043, 'outlays for Medicare would rise to 7.7 percent of GDP by 2050.'"
This, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says, is a "bad idea." A really bad idea that will do nothing other than hurt older Americans. If this is a trial balloon out of the negotiations, it needs to be shot down, fast.