Obama Offered To Raise Medicare Eligibility Age As Part Of Grand Debt Deal

According to five separate sources with knowledge of negotiations -- including both Republicans and Democrats -- the president offered an increase in the eligibility age for Medicare, from 65 to 67, in exchange for Republican movement on increasing tax revenues.

The proposal, as discussed, would not go into effect immediately, but rather would be implemented down the road (likely in 2013). The age at which people would be eligible for Medicare benefits would be raised incrementally, not in one fell swoop.

Sources offered varied accounts regarding the seriousness with which the president had discussed raising the Medicare eligibility age. As the White House is fond of saying, nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. And with Republicans having turned down a "grand" deal on the debt ceiling -- which would have included $3 trillion in spending cuts, including entitlement reforms, in exchange for up to $1 trillion in revenues -- it is unclear whether the proposal remains alive.

"That is one of the things they put on the table as part of a big solution," said one senior Republican Hill aide.

"It was considered in the context of the big deal," added a top Democratic source briefed on the deliberations.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/obama-medicare-eligibility-age_n_894833.html

And the rich will laugh all the way to the bank with their tax cuts in their back pocket.

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EVERY fucking penny cut is going to harm folks... but demanding a rich fuck to pay their fair share is too much? Fuck that! He's a fraud!!!!

and the old timers get cut first.

When they talk about raising the age, it means the age you collect, not the age you get to work until. There are many, many people 55 and over that are looking for work. They would love the chance to work until they die.

my friend is 66. her husband is 63 and has pre-existing conditions. she's working and paying almost $700 a month for health insurance -- most of it to cover him. if she has to work another 5 years instead of 3 i think she'll have a nervous breakdown.

i'm almost 70 but hubby will be 64 in december. what if he's forced to retire? who's going to insure a 64 year old man? i don't have medicare because right now his employer's coverage is better.

president obama. you have betrayed us.

:sarcasm:

Is there anyone left? :rofl:

/ :rofl:

because their employer doesn't offer health insurance when they retire?

How many will be without health insurance because they can't find a job and not old enough for Medicare?

How much does Canada want to be a citizen again? Is it $4000?

Voting, talking, and vetoing. Oh and swindling.

It sure is a hard life.

the silverware to pay for the food before the people in the soup line get to eat.

Social Security, Medicare and the rest of the safety nets have nothing to do with the deficit.

Two things will:
1. Make everyone pay their fair share of income taxes.
2. Get our Living Wage Jobs back into this country.

If you do not have an adequate income, those safety nets are essential.

Our Constitution mentions providing for the general welfare. The Safety net is therefore Constitutional. Destroying it would then be unconstitutional.

along with the Kennedy brothers.

What has happened to my party???

because he sure will not be re-elected.

During the HRC talks, they were a Lieberman away from reducing the age. Since then, they have extended the Bush tax cuts and now are offering to increase the Medicare eligibility age? Completely and utterly unacceptable. There is no way a GOP President could propose such a thing and have single defender around here. It is utterly indefensible for a Democrat to be putting these programs on the chopping block.

tax that includes those whose income comes from capital gains, rather than raising Medicare age requirement.

Why do we Democrats allow him & the media to never mention this?

This train is never late.

Lowered to the age of -9 months, to be exact.

Stop wasting billions on a failed predatory capitalist "Health insurance" system.

Everybody in, everybody covered. One huge pool to keep the costs down. No greedy pigs taking 30% off the top to build mansions.

their only health insurance. Watch how quickly they drop trying to undermine it.

judges - all but nine holding elected office, all working to screw the majority of 300 million people.

And the saddest part of all - we will reelect most of them.

Simple question.