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Good News. Why we will NOT be raising Medicare age to 67
Hooray. A battle that wins itself.
The CBO just lowered the estimate of savings from raising the eligibility age to 67 from $113 billion over ten years ($11+ billion/year) to $19 billion (less than $2 billion/year), so there's almost no upside to match the political/moral downside. Granted, the pain caucus was never in it for the savings, but this will keep enough aspiring centrists (aka human weather vanes) clear of the change to make it a non-starter.
(Reuters) - For U.S. budget negotiators who may want to raise the retirement age by two years to shrink deficits, the Congressional Budget Office has some bad news: the savings would be considerably less than previously thought.
The CBO said in a report released on Thursday that raising the normal eligibility age for Medicare health coverage to 67 from 65 in 2016 would reduce federal budget deficits by only $19 billion through 2023.
That compares with $113 billion in 10-year savings estimated in a 2012 CBO study of a similar move.
The difference is a new analysis of Americans who are 65 and 66. They are still relatively healthy and would likely cost Medicare less than previously estimated, CBO said, so denying them access would save less.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/24/us-usa-fiscal-medicare-idUSBRE99N1GH20131024
The CBO said in a report released on Thursday that raising the normal eligibility age for Medicare health coverage to 67 from 65 in 2016 would reduce federal budget deficits by only $19 billion through 2023.
That compares with $113 billion in 10-year savings estimated in a 2012 CBO study of a similar move.
The difference is a new analysis of Americans who are 65 and 66. They are still relatively healthy and would likely cost Medicare less than previously estimated, CBO said, so denying them access would save less.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/24/us-usa-fiscal-medicare-idUSBRE99N1GH20131024
6 replies
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with their shutdown stunt!!
(I think I deserve at least a nomination for "thread win"! 
)
