Senate Democrats are discussing the idea of expanding Medicare by lowering the age at which the elderly could enter the government-run insurance program, Democratic sources on the Hill tell the Huffington Post.
The proposal would lower the age of eligibility for Medicare from 65 to 55, though an age limit of 60 has also been suggested. Crucial details -- such as the timing of the implementation of such a reform -- were not provided due to the sensitivity and ongoing nature of the deliberations. A high-ranking Democratic source off the Hill confirmed that such discussions are taking place.
Lowering the floor for Medicare is one of several ideas being discussed as a way to pacify progressives upset over the potential elimination of a public option for insurance coverage, one of the sources added. Senate Democrats held discussions this past weekend about replacing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's version of a public plan with one that would be non-profit-based. The alternative proposal would be offered in state exchanges, run by private insurers but monitored by the Office of Personnel Management.
"The Office Personal Management proposal that has been out there for the past couple days is one of the leading ideas to represent the public option in a modified bill. But there are a series of things that progressives are negotiating in exchange for dropping the [public option] opt-out," said the source.
Expanding Medicare would likely prove to be a tempting olive branch to progressives in the Senate. Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean, in addition to championing such a proposal during the 2004 presidential campaign, has long discussed framing the public plan as an extension of Medicare, one of the most popular government-run programs in the country.
But there are potential complications with the compromise proposal. Medicare already is on an increasingly expensive financial track, though efforts to cut some of the budgetary waste from the system have met with forceful pushback from moderates and Republicans in the Senate. In addition, the Senate weakened a proposed Medicare Commission, which would have been granted autonomy to suggest or pursue money-saving proposals.
"Moderates have made a whole campaign about how Medicare bankrupts hospitals and doctors," said one Democratic health care strategist. "So I doubt they'd go for [the lowering the Medicare age buy-in proposal]. And for progressives, well, it's not much of an olive branch. It doesn't solve the problem [of reforming the private industry]."
UPDATE: Politico reports on a slight variation of the proposal above:
The group of 10 Democrats working to break an impasse on the government insurance option are considering changes to other parts of the bill, including creating a Medicare buy-in, according to multiple officials familiar with the talks. The Medicare buy-in could allay the concerns of progressives, who are being pressured to abandon the public option. It would allow people younger than 65 to purchase coverage in the popular government program for the elderly -- and it would be a significant win for Democrats, who have been seeking this change for years.
© 2009 Huffington Post
No comments:
Post a Comment