Raising Medicare eligibility age not on the table
tweeted by, Greg Sargent ?@ThePlumLineGS
Dem aides: Raising Medicare eligibility age not on the table, despite GOP demands: http://wapo.st/TsAVry
Greg Sargent:
Some more quick notes about that big Politico piece on what’s going on in the fiscal cliff talks. The piece makes two points about the haggling over Medicare’s future that are worth addressing. First, it says in passing that Dem aides say raising the Medicare eligiblity age is on the table. If true, that would be a nonstarter for the left.
But as best as I can determine after talking to Dem aides, this isn’t on the table. It’s something Republicans want to be part of the talks but not one Dems are seriously entertaining, at least for now. Dick Durbin and other Democrats have repeatedly said raising the retirement age is off the table. Obama reportedly signaled openness to it during the 2011 debt ceiling talks, so if some on the left still want to be vigilant about this possibility, it’s understandable — after all, ultimately Dems will likely fall in line behind what Obama wants in the end. But keep in mind Obama was in a significantly weaker position last time and may not see the need to make that concession now.
The second, and more interesting, point is that Republicans are insisting that the White House go first in laying out proposed entitlement cuts — and the White House is balking . . .
read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/inside-the-fiscal-cliff-haggling-over-medicare/2012/11/29/d21a4a08-3a3e-11e2-8a97-363b0f9a0ab3_blog.html
read politico article: http://www.politico.com/story/2012/11/84364.html?hp=t1_3
