Raising Medicare age will rob the system of younger seniors...

[matmar]

Sam Seder made this point. By taking the youngest, healthiest group of seniors out of the Medicare system you are actually making Medicare more expensive. Conversely, by adding 65 and 66 year olds to the private health insurance market, you are making that system more expensive as well.

[still_one]

1. If the bastards make the age high enough no one will have an opportunity to benefit /nt

[Horse with no Name]

2. Isn't that the point? n/t

[Warren Stupidity]

3. While I think raising the age is criminal I don't buy this particular argument.

65 and 66 year old people cost something greater than zero, consequently removing all 65 and 66 year olds from the system reduces the overall price tag. It might raise the average cost per person in the system, but it would in fact reduce the overall cost.

That said, of course these people will have to get insurance from the private sector, and that insurance will be very expensive for them, or if we pass a sane reform that required one price for all from the private insurance industry, higher costs for the entire private market.

Either way the bottom line is that this cost shift trades relatively inexpensive medicare coverage for 65 and 66 year old people for much more expensive private insurance coverage - the net cost to society to insure these people goes up. What sense does that make? Oh I guess it makes sense if you are in the for-profit health insurance industry.

[Travis_0004]

4. How does raising medicare's age make it more expensive.

People pay into medicare their entire working lives, so if less people make claims, shouldn't that lower the costs (of medicare)?

I agree with you that keeping them on private insurance will raise private insurance costs.

[rhett o rick]

5. I think they are talking about Medicare Part B which is paid for.

If you remove the younger, healthier seniors that would be paying into Part B, the cost would go up for the remaining.

[Telly Savalas]

6. But I'm guessing losing the combo of Part B premiums and the claims

in exchange for payroll taxes and no claims for 65-66 year olds would be a net boost to the financial state of Medicare.

But that's really beside the point. Raising the Medicare eligibility age is a terrible idea because to the degree that it saves the government money, it's just shifting costs to the private sector. Moreover since insurers and private individuals pay medical providers at higher rates than Medicare, overall medical spending can be expected to go up.

[rhett o rick]

7. Not sure I agree with your first statement but do agree that it's beside the point.

The eligibility age should be reduced not raised.

[tsuki]

8. And it will raise the uninsured rate.