Reply #32: Ditto on raising the Medicare age

[karynnj]

If you look back to the HCR debate, one group that many liberals were concerned about was the group from 55 to 65. The plan assigns them the highest rate because statistically they are the most likely to get serious chronic diseases and to have acute problems requiring very expensive hospitalization. The initial Finance plan allowed companies to charge them 5 times the lowest rate. This was changed in committee (Kerry led on this) to 3 - and he was arguing for 2 explaining that even that was a hardship. I think it ended up as 2 via the reconciliation bill, but am not sure. Two points from this:

1) Kerry's point was that many in this age group were people seeking insurance after their companies laid them off. They faced the toughest time getting a new job with medical benefits. So, this is a cohort that is bearing a huge share of the economic cost of this downturn. It was out of this concern that the idea - rejected by Leiberman who said there was no way he would vote for it, of letting people for that age group buy into Medicare. That would have been the least costly way, in total costs for people and the government, to cover these people. That argument would be even truer of people aged 66 and 67.

2) Look at the requirement that the highest rate can not be more than 3 (or maybe 2). Now consider that the cohort of people aged 65 and 66 is added. This raises the average cost significantly. The amount that the oldest group can be charged is limited to a multiple of the least expensive group. Mathematically, this means that costs for ALL groups increase. One thing this will do is raise premiums of many young people, already burdened by student debt and a job market they never expected when they started school. Adding all these people is not good for the HCR bill itself.

An addition point is that liberals may have an unlikely ally in the fight against this. Big Business. For years, retirement packages (early or otherwise) have included medical benefits. These benefits, at least for the companies I know anything about, require people to take Medicare when they qualify for it. At that point their insurance becomes secondary. This change will mean that these companies suddenly acquire a new, unexpected liability.