The proposal to expand Medicare to include people aged 55 and older as part of an alternative to creating the public option may have expanded support for the Senate version of the overhaul bill, the Los Angeles Times reports. "Despite the enthusiasm, the proposal must clear at least one big hurdle: cost. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has not yet analyzed the idea, and its conclusions could be a major factor -- positive or negative -- in determining whether the compromise opens the way for final Senate action on healthcare." The expansion proposal came Tuesday as part of a tentative agreement between liberals and moderates to back away from the public insurance option promoted by progressives (Levey and Jaspen, 12/10).
The expanded Medicare program could help cover the 4.3 million uninsured Americans in the 55 to 64 age group who are among the most expensive patients to insure, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. That could be especially helpful to "people forced into early retirement by the economy and thereby forced out of their medical coverage." Details of the plan aren't available yet, and its unclear exactly which people in the age group would be eligible. The new Medicare recipients would have to buy into the program, unlike people over 65, but subsidies may be available (Bergen and Burling, 12/10).
The Wall Street Journal: Under the plan "congressional aides estimate that two million to three million people would participate." The approach "could be good news for some in the 55-64 bracket who currently don't have an easy way to get coverage. Those who must buy coverage on their own often face high premiums or are shut out entirely because of pre-existing conditions."