Hospitals say Medicare eligibility age should go up to 67 years old. [View All]

[Better Believe It]

Medicare eligibility age should go up, hospitals say
By SUSAN JAFFE
September 8, 2011

The American Hospital Association has a strategy for heading off any more Medicare payment cuts: Tell Congress to get the money from Medicare beneficiaries instead.

The association is urging its nearly 5,000 members to lobby Congress to raise the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67, in addition to other money-saving alternatives, according to spokeswoman Marie Watteau.

That’s one of the ideas that could get a new look as the deficit committee tries to find ways to reduce Medicare spending. If it can’t find at least $1.2 trillion in savings, hospitals and other health care providers will get hit with automatic cuts in Medicare payments.

To lessen the impact, AHA favors phasing in the change, said Watteau. Eventually, seniors who aren’t eligible for Medicare could buy their own health insurance through state insurance exchanges starting in 2014, with subsidies for those with low incomes, she noted.

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