Paid into Medicare\caid for 35 - 65yr olds via reconciliation makes 2010 a slam dunk for dems...

[uponit7771]

Pass Medicare\caid by in via reconciliation for 35 - 55 yr olds and then scream and holler that the GOP will take that away and the GOP can either fight medicare\caid or go with the flow. Either way the GOP loses a HUGE voter bases...if Obama needed more seats in congress to get his agenda done faster the way "SEEMS" clear...

I get frustrated most with sports teams who have all the abilities and opportunities and don't take advantage of them cause they're stuck in a stupid way of thinking...

If democrats wanted to put the acidic thinking of the GOP to bed and take them out for a generation then pass medicare buy in via reconciliation.......... EVEN IF it's symbolic.

Where is Harry Reid on reconciliation?!

TIA

[begin_within]

1. Then what about 55-65-year-olds?

[still_one]

3. cookies? Solyent Green. Oh wait a minute, I am in that demographic, forget it /nt

[uponit7771]

6. edited...I thought they were already covered by early medicare

[lapfog_1]

2. You do realize that the current age to qualify for Medicare is 65?

I've suggested (over and over) that they pass the Medicare expansion that was agreed to by everyone but Joe Lieberman, namely 55 and up, and do it via reconciliation (which this would easily qualify for since it affects only budget issues), and, in addition, pay for this with a 1 to 2% income tax increase on individuals that make more than $200,000 (couples over $400,000).

Simple, direct, a big victory for Dems, at least as many people getting health insurance as the current bill, and it doesn't touch the insurance companies at all.

Scrap the rest of HCR and start over with a new Patients Bill of Rights, which ONLY deals with the regulation of the insurance industry and their treatment of their customers (no caps, no denial for pre-existing, no recision, etc). A bill that doesn't do a damn thing about money issues or creating exchanges, etc.

Also pass an expansion of Medicaid for those under 55 who cannot get insurance or who cannot afford insurance. Do this one via reconciliation if you have to.

Wait 5 to 10 years, people will love it. Then pass expansion of Medicare to 45 and up. Rinse and repeat.

[daleanime]

4. The only problem with that is...

it would work, and you know we can't have that:sarcasm:

[uponit7771]

7. Why would it need to be paid for by tax increase if people were buying into it? Also, I don't think

...you'd have to wait 5 - 10 years...5 - 10 months and the droves of pugs were I work would flock to it quicker than one could blink

[lapfog_1]

8. They were two alternative ideas

I should have been more clear.

Expand Medicare to allow people 55 and over to buy-in (with their own money) OR expand Medicare to allow 55 and over to receive benefits and pay for them with a tax increase on the high income earners.

Also, if we expand Medicaid for people who can't afford insurance might well require a tax increase to offset the budget cost.

And we wait 10 years because it will take that long to get the Patients Bill of Rights done (which attempts to fix insurance for the rest of us) and it allays the immediate fears that the government is "taking over" (because when we pass this, we tell people that this is it for 10 years - OK 5 years). Then, after the time passes, the economy hasn't collapsed and people are happy getting Medicare and the government proves it handles the extra load just fine... and then we lower the age again.

20 years from now, Medicaid goes away, insurance goes away, SCHIP and Medicare become one and the same, and it's single payer.

[sandnsea]

10. I'd rather have Medicaid than Medicare

And we're passing a Medicaid expansion to 150% of poverty for all adults. That should be getting as much support as buying into Medicare at full price because Medicaid helps all ages. Most people's insurance is going to be nearly as expensive as full priced Medicare anyway. I'd rather expand Medicaid to include buy-ins.

[Traveling_Home]

5. CBO !!!!!!!!!!! nt

[Laelth]

9. 35-65? If you can get that, I'll get right behind this bill in a heartbeat.

But I doubt that will happen, so I continue to say ...

Kill the bill.

Forcing people to buy insurance is no more the answer to a failed health care system than forcing people to buy houses is the solution to homelessness.

:dem:

-Laelth

[gorekerrydreamticket]

11. No one ever explains how much it would cost, say, a 55-year old in average health to "buy in" ...

to Medicare so it is hard to know what the value of this proposal really is...