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Why Insurers Are Wary Of Raising The Medicare Age
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/12/insurers-raising-medicare-age.php?ref=fpa[div class="excerpt" style="border: solid 2px #998877"]
The possibility that Democratic and Republican leaders will agree to slowly increase the Medicare eligibility age to 67 is creating strange bedfellows: liberals both in and out of Congress and the health insurance industry.
A well-placed industry source tells TPM insurers havent taken a public position but are skeptical of the idea, particularly those insurers that dont cover elderly patients via Medicare Advantage, supplemental Medigap coverage or prescription drug coverage.
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The reason: hiking the Medicare eligibility age would throw seniors aged 65 and 66 off Medicare and into the private market, forcing insurers, who will soon be required to cover all consumers regardless of health status, to care for a sicker, more expensive crop of patients.
The risk pool issue is important, the insurance industry source said. f you add more older and sicker people to the pool, thats definitely going to have any impact on premiums.
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Why Insurers Are Wary Of Raising The Medicare Age (Original Post)
Bill USA
Dec 2012
OP
and lowering the age would be good for both.
But Republicans can't add and subtract.
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)2. No shit.
It is such a stupid pennywise pound-foolish act.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)5. Of course, but in the pursuit of their ideology that "the government can' t do anything right"
they will do anything, even the stupid thing.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)3. I have no problem screwing the health insurance industry -- but not this way.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)4. Medicare was always about letting Insurance Cos. cherry pick the risk pool.
Hence the huge profits.