Van Hollen takes Medicare age increase and Social Security off the table (updated)

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Last edited Tue Nov 27, 2012, 09:45 PM - Edit history (1)

Zach Carter

Fiscal Cliff: House Democrats Close Ranks Against Social Security Cuts

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Tuesday that Social Security cuts should not be part of any deal to avert the "fiscal cliff."

Van Hollen's comments, which came during an interview with MSNBC's Tamron Hall, reveal that Democratic leaders in the House are closing ranks behind Senate leadership against cuts to the retirement program.

"With respect to Social Security, I agree with what the president has said and what (Rep.) Peter DeFazio said. Social Security is not part of the deficit and debt problem. We're not going to raid Social Security in order to balance other parts of the budget," Van Hollen said.

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Earlier on Tuesday, Van Hollen told Fox News that raising the eligibility age for Medicare was not an effective way to lower the system's long-term costs. Escalating domestic health care costs, which are much higher than those of other developed nations, are a key driver of the long-term U.S. budget deficit. Many progressive lawmakers and economists have advocated to make Medicare more efficient, rather than simply cutting benefits to recipients. Since low-income citizens generally live shorter lives than wealthier citizens, raising the eligibility age for Medicare to 67 from 65 would disproportionately harm the poor. Reining in the health care system's costs, however, involves taking on politically powerful corporations on Capitol Hill, including the pharmaceutical industry.

"Moving (Medicare) from 65 to 67 is, again, not reducing costs in Medicare," Van Hollen told Fox. "It's not really reforming the Medicare system … there are a lot better ways of doing it."

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/fiscal-cliff-democrats-social-security_n_2199833.html

Updated to add:

Fox News Host Demands To Know Why Democrats Won’t Raise Medicare Age
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/11/27/1245971/fox-news-medicare/