Bruce
Japsen Senior Contributor
Dec 30, 2018, 09:00am
After two years of defending the Affordable
Care Act from Republican appeal attempts, Democrats could go on the offensive
with popular ideas they’ve had to keep on the shelf while out of power like
lowering the eligibility age for Medicare.
One of those ideas is the so-called ”Medicare
at 55 Act,” which gives Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 an option to
buy into Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly. It’s
one of the healthcare issues Democrats have talked about in recent years, but
it hasn’t gotten nearly the attention as their recent 2018 mid-term election
campaign to save the ACA and its protections for patients with pre-existing
medical conditions.
But “Medicare at 55" could get a
serious airing in the U.S. House of Representatives where Democrats will be in
control effective this week and in the Senate where key
supporters just won re-election to new terms.
U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown
(D-OH) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) were among eight Democrats who introduced the Medicare at
55 Act in 2017 at the peak of attacks on the ACA by the Donald
Trump administration and the Republican-led Congress. All three Democratic
Senators were re-elected by comfortable margins in states Trump won in 2016 to
become President in his Electoral College victory over Hillary Clinton.
Because there are more than 40 million
Americans between the ages of 55 and 64, Senate Democrats said they “are
burdened by high insurance premiums, unaffordable deductibles and limited
options,” the Baldwin-Brown-Stabenow proposal
said.
"Our legislation offers a choice for
millions of older Americans to buy more affordable, quality health care
coverage,” Baldwin said in her press release at the
time. “For people between the ages of 55 and 64, this is a high
quality option that can help reduce health insurance costs and increase
competition.”
With Sen. Brown among those mentioned as a
possible Democratic contender to run for President in 2020, the idea could gain
even more visibility, particularly as his potential rivals like Sens. Bernie
Sanders, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren push “Medicare for
All.”
Medicare at 55 could be more palatable to
moderate Republicans and Democrats who worry about expanding entitlements given
rising deficits triggered lately by Trump’s and GOP-led tax cuts. Those gaining
Medicare coverage would buy into coverage so the government wouldn’t be footing
the entire bill. In addition, younger healthier Americans would be buying into
Medicare helping pay the costs of older sicker seniors, supporters say.
In the House, moderate Democrats with a
history of working with Republicans like Kurt Schrader (D-Oregon) have been
less interested in a Medicare for All approach, but have favored the ability of
Americans to buy into Medicare. The 10 Democratic House members proposed the
idea in 2017 as part of a plan to stabilize Obamacare, reports at the time said.
A Medicare buy-in proposal floated by Schrader
and several colleagues in recent years would allow people to buy into Medicare
Advantage plans, which have a larger risk pool of patients in markets across
the country than the ACA's individual market.
Because it includes private insurers, the
House Democrats Medicare buy-in proposal could also win support of the
insurance industry given the popularity Medicare Advantage plans sold by Aetna,
Anthem, Cigna, Humana and UnitedHealth Group are included in any legislation.
“Allowing the option for some consumers to buy
in to Medicare as they approach retirement age could allow for additional
affordable and reliable options through traditional Medicare and Medicare
Advantage programs,” the proposal from Schrader and
several House Democrats said when it was introduced.
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