Are Democrats abandoning raising the Medicare eligibility age?
Here's a bit more tea leaf reading on what might be happening in fiscal cliff negotiating, on the Democratic side. If you squint at it right, the signs are there that raising the Medicare eligibility age is out of the mix. First, there's a kick-ass op-ed in USA Today from Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, detailing just how harmful the proposal could be.
n the talks to avert the fiscal cliff, the idea of raising the Medicare age is central to the Republican proposal. There's just one critical problem: It doesn't work. It doesn't have public support. It's unfair. And it doesn't lower health expenditures.
Such a proposal is a reflection of the broader Republican plan: an assault on the middle class, seniors—and our future. Republicans like to talk about their ideas in terms of abstract numbers. However, we cannot ignore the adverse impacts of their policies on the American people. [...]
She goes on to detail how the cut would ripple throughout the health care system, adversely affecting everyone from employers to younger people. It's a high profile takedown of one of the main ideas being forwarded by the Very Serious People in Washington, and at least some of the folks who have a say. But is she speaking for President Obama and all Democrats? That's a big unknown, but the second piece of evidence out there could mean the idea is on the outs.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/12/11/1169067/-Are-Democrats-abandoning-raising-the-Medicare-eligibility-nbsp-age
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