Politico: Obama and Boehner have discussed major changes to Medicare

[steve2470]

FWIW:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/59319_Page2.html

<snip>

The record of exchanges between Obama and the speaker do show major structural changes to Medicare have been discussed, albeit on a timeline that Boehner appears to have found frustrating. Medicare’s eligibility age would be raised to 67 over many years but would only reach 66 by 2029 under one proposal. And while the administration opened the door to requiring many more Medicare recipients to pay steeper income-related Part B premiums, that would have limited impact in the first 10 years.

Currently, the higher premiums kick in for individuals with more than $85,000 or couples filing joint returns of more than $170,000. And four to five higher brackets increase the share of the cost for the wealthy from 25 percent to 80 percent.

By freezing these thresholds, inflation will each year add more elderly into this system. Health care reform, in fact, already imposed such a freeze through 2019, and one of the options discussed was to extend this freeze until the top 25 percent of Medicare recipients would be covered.

The precise savings from both of these structural changes — affecting eligibility and premiums — are not clear. But the long-term consequences are real — and will almost certainly be lost unless an agreement can be reached on revenues.

<snip>

[Angry Dragon]

1. have to wait and see what comes out

I do not see how there can be any debate or study of the effects in the time left

It will be a take it or leave it ...........

[Big Blue Marble]

2. Is not the plan to force it on the Congress

and thus the American people?

[Angry Dragon]

4. I do not know

too many locked doors in DC

[Big Blue Marble]

5. More and more, it is government by fiat

as democracy fades in the rearview mirror. It has been decided that "they" know more than we do as
to what is good for us. Yum, eat your peas and like it.

[slipslidingaway]

3. knr nt