Dec
14Senate Democrats dropped a plan to expand Medicare on Monday. This move was another step for the Democrats in their continued effort to pass the health care overhaul, though not everyone is happy about it.
The Basics of the Medicare Expansion and Why They Let it Go
The idea for the Medicare expansion was to allow people ages 55 to 64 buy into Medicare. While Democrats wanted to keep the expansion in the bill, they decided that the battle they faced to keep it wasn’t worth holding up legislation that would overall extend coverage to tens of millions of Americans, so they dropped it.
Now that the Medicare expansion has been dropped, Democrats are that much closer to locking up the 60 votes they need to overcome the bill’s Republican opposition.
What the Expansion Could Have Done for Americans
The original hope for the Medicare expansion was that the three million Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 with no coverage could finally receive affordable coverage. While those under 65 would not have received the exact same benefits as their older counterparts, they would have been able to take advantage of certain benefits at a reduced price.
Some Senators argued that those who may be missing out on the Medicare expansion could still take advantage of subsidies that would allow them to buy private insurance at a reduced price. In fact, they argued, the Medicare buy-in would have actually been redundant.
While the bill still isn’t complete, the hope is that the Senate will get the bill passed by Christmas. In the meantime, we will have to wait and see what adjustments will be made and how they will affect the future of health care.
Do you think the Medicare expansion should have been dropped from the health care bill?
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