Raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 may help to stave off the severity of the fiscal cliff, according to the Wall Street Journal.
This two-year difference could decrease Medicare spending by $148 billion if the change took place between 2012 and 2021.
This idea has been brought up before, but at that point in time there would not have been an easy way for the no-longer-Medicare eligible people to obtain insurance. According to the article, after 2014 the Affordable Care Act will make it easier for seniors to obtain their own insurance, and the age increase would likely be implemented over several years.
Proponents of the age increase point out that while life expectancies increased since its inception in 1965, the age of eligibility has not.
That year, a woman turning 65 could expect to live another 18 years on average, and a man another 13 years and six months. By 2010, that average had climbed to almost 21 years for women, and 19 for men, according to data compiled by Social Security Administration actuaries.
However, this change would mean that companies would have to continue to offer coverage to older employees, potentially costing $4.5 billion for 2014 if the policy were implemented, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
President Barack Obama indicated in previous negotiations over spending cuts that he might be open to the notion. It has been floated by Republicans, including Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the House Budget Committee leader and the party’s vice-presidential nominee. North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad, the retiring chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, has said a compromise involving such a change is “something we could accomplish.”
Source:
http://healthcare.dmagazine.com/2012/11/29/raising-the-medicare-eligibility-age-may-aid-fiscal-cliff/