Biden’s big Medicare change may render Americans eligible sooner
Task force released proposals that will be submitted to Democratic National Committee
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's campaign task force unveiled policy recommendations for the party platform Wednesday, which included expanding coverage of the government-run Medicare program to more – but not all – Americans.
The task force, a joint venture with Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, plugged a proposal to lower Medicare eligibility to age 60 from 65.
Associated costs would be financed out of general revenues, Biden has said.
That recommendation was among many others that will be submitted to the Democratic National Committee’s platform committee.
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The Medicare eligibility adjustment would enable millions of older workers to choose from health care options including Medicare, their employer’s health plan and the public option. The latter was suggested by the task force as a means to expand and strengthen the Affordable Care Act.
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The recommendation stops far short of Sanders’ Medicare for All vision, a policy that would have expanded coverage of the government-run program to all Americans.
Medicare for All became a point of contention among Democratic nominees for president who disagreed over its merits.
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In a statement Tuesday, Sanders acknowledged the recommendations are not what his suspended presidential campaign alone would have come up with.
“Though the end result is not what I or my supporters would have written alone, the task forces have created a good policy blueprint that will move this country in a much-needed progressive direction and substantially improve the lives of working families throughout our country,” Sanders said.
On the other hand, Biden called the proposals “bold” and “transformative.”