Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Medicare Eligibility

It's often difficult to draw a bright line between policy and politics, but we'd be remiss if we didn't point out a rather glaring double-standard. Last week, we hosted the Health Wonk Review, which included this diatribe from Maggie Mahar:

"Boehner proposes slicing social safety net programs ... he continues to insist that we raise the age when Americans can apply for Medicare from 65 to 67 ... asking those who have worked harder to wait another  two years before receiving Medicare seems cruel."

But that's not all:

"But, fairness aside, when you look at the numbers, it turns out that the claim that we can save billions by requiring that everyone wait until 67 before applying for Medicare is bogus."

Okay, so when will we see her post lambasting President Obama for suggesting this very thing:

"President Obama didn’t rule out raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 as part of a comprehensive package to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff,” during an interview with ABC News  ... Obama told Barbara Walters that keeping younger seniors out of the health care program is “something that’s been floated” and didn’t immediately reject the idea."

But why woudn't he reject it out of hand if, as Maggie (and others) claim, it's both "cruel" and "bogus?"

We await with bated breath.

[Hat Tip: FoIB Holly R]

No comments:

Post a Comment