US Congress Should Raise Medicare Eligibility Age, Limit Benefits, Columnist Writes

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 20 May 2005 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Congress should "design a broad makeover of retirement" in which US residents work longer and pay more of their health care costs after they retire,... Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson writes in an opinion piece. According to Samuelson, Social Security and Medicare were intended to protect the "neediest among the elderly," but the federal government has made the programs "more generous" over the years. As life expectancy increases, the federal government should not continue to "subsidize ever-longer retirements," he says, adding that spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as a share of gross domestic product will almost double by 2030. According to Samuelson, the "only alternative is to cut retirement benefits" and reduce the "subsidies that encourage earlier retirement." Samuelson suggests gradually raising the eligibility age for Medicare to age 70 by 2030 and allowing people ages 65 to 70 to buy into Medicare. Such a change would save about 1% of GDP by 2030, he states. Samuelson also suggests gradually increasing Medicare premiums from about 12% to 20%. In addition, he suggests that wealthier beneficiaries should pay larger premiums. Such changes would amount to savings about 0.5% of GDP, according to Samuelson. He adds that "tiny changes won't accomplish much" and that the government must take "big steps now to give people ample warning." Samuelson concludes that Medicare "should move back toward [its] origins" and provide coverage only for the neediest because the current system will "overburden future generations and could weaken the economy" (Samuelson, Washington Post, 5/18).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

• Additional
• References
• Citations