Sen. Sherrod Brown hopes Biden package will extend Medicare buy-in option to people 50 and over

[TexasTowelie]

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ohio’s Sen. Sherrod Brown and a group of his Democratic colleagues in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday re-introduced legislation that would allow people aged 50 and over to buy into Medicare. They said they’ve asked President Joe Biden to include the idea in a $1 trillion “American Families Plan” he’ll unveil on April 28, and are hopeful that he’ll do so.

Brown said he’s pushed legislation for more than two decades to lower the age threshold to qualify for the popular federal health insurance program that currently serves people aged 65 and older. He said that as people approach retirement, their health care costs and needs for prescription drugs tend to go up, as the ability of some workers get private insurance declines.

“There are many millions of Americans who are in their 50s and early 60s that would love the opportunity of getting on Medicare,” said Brown, who said past efforts to let younger people buy into Medicare failed because they were blocked by insurance companies and conservative politicians.

Brown and two other bill cosponsors - Michigan’s Debbie Stabenow and Wisconsin’ Tammy Baldwin - said they hope the proposal will be included in Biden’s upcoming package, and get a vote in Congress.

Read more: https://www.cleveland.com/open/2021/04/sen-sherrod-brown-hopes-biden-package-will-extend-medicare-buy-in-option-to-people-50-and-over.html

[marble falls]

1. Good move. Probably a little left for some of us. But I think left is where we need to be.

[WA-03 Democrat]

2. Really like this idea

I think many would as well,

[Budi]

3. This sounds like Hillary Clinton's policy plan from 1993 & again in 2016

This sounds a lot like Hillary Clinton's policy plan proposing to lower the age eligibility for Medicare.
It was actually then-First Lady Hillary Clinton who came before the Senate back in 1993.


27 years later ....it's STILL a needed & wanted Medicare plan.

Thanks Hillary Clinton..

Perhaps with the push from Sen. Sherrod Brown her foresight can be brought to reality.

[70sEraVet]

4. I'd LOVE to see numbers of how many retirement-age folks aren't able to retire

because their spouse isn't old enough to get on Medicare! Dropping the age limit to 50 would make a huge difference.

[Demsrule86]

8. Having looked into both...the ACA is cheaper at least for me.

[Politicub]

5. I hope so. Fifty isn't that far away.

Our private insurance system is horrible and the cost of healthcare is a bad joke. I don’t know how to tame the Frankenstein monster, but this will be a good start.

[BobTheSubgenius]

6. This is one more step down the road to a govt-run, wide-open program, and then where will you be?

In a country with universal god-damned health care, like any other respectable nation, that's where!

If economic powerhouses like Burkina Faso, Rwanda and Serbia can manage it, just maybe the US can.

[Demsrule86]

7. I do too...Medicare needs reforming though...it is expensive and there are coverage gaps.