Dems Tell GOP To Back Off Medicare Eligibility Age … For Now

[DonViejo]

BRIAN BEUTLER NOVEMBER 29, 2012, 7:25 AM 2428

Top Democrats, up to and including President Obama, have for years entertained the idea of slowly raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 as part of a broader bipartisan deficit reduction package.

But a lot has changed since the summer of 2011, when a weakened Obama nearly traded that regressive measure (and a whole lot more) for only modest new tax revenues in debt limit negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). And though Republicans are still gunning to increase the Medicare age, high-ranking Democrats are telling them to look elsewhere. At least for now.

Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) took to the Senate floor Wednesday morning to close the door on raising the Medicare eligibility age anytime soon. “The notion about extending the eligibility age for Medicare is one we ought to think about long and hard,” Durbin said.

During his floor speech, Durbin staked out the position that Congress shouldn’t seriously consider raising Medicare eligibility until its clear that the Affordable Care Act is operating well, so that seniors between 65 and 67 can fall back into a different (though less generous) public system.

“To think that a person would retire at the age of 64 or 65 and not have Medicare coverage until 67 raises the obvious question: These people in their mid-60s, probably with a health history, will find it difficult to buy health insurance on the open market or afford whatever is available,” Durbin said. “I want to make sure there are no gaps in coverage for those who need it the most: retired Americans who have a health history and can’t find affordable health insurance. So … let us make certain that there are insurance exchanges, good competition, and affordable health care available for those seniors.”

Full article:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/11/raising-medicare-eligibility-age-durbin.php?ref=fpb

[leftyohiolib]

1. d-d sure seems to be saying alot lately

[John2]

4. And

I wrote that reporter embellished her reporting to give an impression, other than what Durbin meant. I saw the whole conference by Durbin. You can take any line out of context and give the meaning some other impression of what he really meant. He repeated the same thing about medicare, which the reporter edited. Not only that, he said Social Security specifically was not part of the talks, concerning the Deficit, yet the reporter left it out. What he said, was medicare and medicaid should be on the table for extensive talks along the lines of cutting wasteful costs. Senator Durbin presented specific examples also, that was along the lines President Obama is giving which prevents cutting any benefits. Repeat. He is talking about cutting the waste just like in the Healthcare Act. The article that you are presenting, is nothing more than a distortion of what Durbin said. I watched the entire interview on CSPAN.

[msongs]

3. dumbod dickie has great taxpayer funded health care so what does he care, really nt