Press Releases

Rep. Doggett, Rep. Courtney, Rep. McGovern 81 House Democrats Urge President Obama, -Do Not Raise the Medicare Eligibility Age-

Today, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Rep. Courtney (D-CT), and 81 House Democrats urged President Obama to reject House Republican efforts to raise the Medicare eligibility age during ongoing debt negotiations.

-With some of our colleagues still determined to hold ongoing debt negotiations hostage over their ideological priorities, it is critical that we make clear our commitment to maintaining the Medicare eligibility age. Raising the Medicare eligibility age doesn't cut costs—it simply shifts those costs to those who depend on Medicare, to younger Americans who buy insurance through the new health insurance exchanges and to states,-Rep. Doggett wrote.

The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the costs to states and the private sector would be twice as large as the savings— $11.4 billion in costs versus $5.7 billion in net federal savings. A phased-in approach as included in the Ryan Republican Budget produces no budget savings over the next decade.

The letter concludes,-As we continue to work to develop a response to rising health care costs and make Medicare stronger, we urge you in the strongest possible terms against changing the eligibility age of this vital part of retirement security.-

Full text of the letter to President Obama follows below.

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

We salute your leadership in seeking tax fairness for all. Furthermore, we understand the importance of balancing fiscal responsibility with the responsibility to meet fundamental public needs. We certainly agree that the Bush tax cuts should be allowed to expire for the top 2 percent of American taxpayers, returning to the Clinton Administration level. This change would occur automatically if Congress failed to act by the end of the year. Some of our colleagues, who have long questioned the value of Medicare, have urged that in return for allowing these tax rates to return to their prior levels, we should terminate Medicare for millions of seniors. As Minority Leader Pelosi put it so eloquently, -It was their trophy in the talks on the fiscal cliff -- the price they asked seniors to pay before they voted to ask the wealthiest to pay their fair share.- This would be unacceptable.

Raising the Medicare age doesn't cut costs—it simply shifts those costs to those who depend on Medicare, to younger Americans who buy insurance through the new health insurance exchanges, and to states. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the costs to states and the private sector would betwice as large as the savings-- $11.4 billion in costs versus $5.7 billion in net federal savings. For our colleagues to consider raising the eligibility age illustrates that their desire has less to do with addressing rising longer health care costs than it does being able to claim an ideological triumph.

As the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities recently concluded on raising the Medicare eligibility age:

-The goal should be to slow the growth of health care costs system-wide, while extending coverage to all Americans. This proposal does just the opposite on both fronts — raising costs system-wide and increasing the ranks of the uninsured.-

Our nation's older Americans have worked a lifetime for the promise of Social Security and Medicare. For those 65-and 66-year-olds who would now be denied the security of Medicare, their out-of-pocket costs would increase by $3.7 billion. Paying more for their health care isn't the only negative impact on our nation's older Americans. Raising the Medicare eligibility age to 67 would also increase the population of uninsured seniors by at least 270,000 people.

While the House Republican budget phased in this change for those 54 and below, this only delays the pain. And such a phased approach would produce no budget savings for the next decade. It only indicates that this Republican proposal is about ideology, not deficit reduction.

Even though we have made great progress addressing long-term rising health care costs with the passage of the Affordable Health Care Act, and even though the eligibility age for Social Security benefits is gradually increasing, it will do great harm to our economy and millions of seniors to raise the Medicare eligibility age or enact other significant cost-shifting alternatives.

We do understand it is important to meet the challenge of rising health care costs, that is why we were willing to vote for changes to Medicare and in doing so, extended the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by almost another decade.

As we continue to work to develop a response to rising health care costs and make Medicare stronger, we urge you in the strongest possible terms against changing the eligibility age of this vital part of retirement security.

Sincerely,

Lloyd Doggett

Joe Courtney

John Larson

Louise Slaughter

John Lewis

Jan Schakowsky

Allyson Schwartz

Raul Grijalva

Frank Pallone

Barney Frank

John Tierney

Danny Davis

Henry Waxman

Bobby Scott

Kathy Castor

Earl Blumenauer

Mel Watt

Bill Pascrell

Elijah Cummings

Al Green

Janice Hahn

Jim McDermott

Sheila Jackson Lee

Judy Chu

Robert Brady

Charles Rangel

Gene Green

Rosa DeLauro

Marcia Fudge

Corrine Brown

Eddie Bernice Johnson

Eleanor Holmes Norton

John Yarmuth

Karen Bass

Anna Eshoo

Brad Miller

Peter DeFazio

Mike Honda

Ted Deutch

Yvette Clarke

Sam Farr

Adam Schiff

Jose Serrano

Bennie Thompson

Bobby Rush

Alcee Hastings

Jim Langevin

Keith Ellison

Rush Holt

Paul Tonko

Tim Bishop

Peter Welch

Bill Keating

Chellie Pingree

Colleen Hanabusa

Jim McGovern

Jerrold Nadler

Steve Cohen

Donna Edwards

John Sarbanes

Linda Sanchez

Doris Matsui

Carolyn Maloney

Emanuel Cleaver

Grace Napolitano

Suzanne Bonamici

Loretta Sanchez

John Garamendi

David Cicilline

Donald Payne

Barbara Lee

Lois Capps

Jackie Speier

Maxine Waters

Laura Richardson

Zoe Lofgren

David Curson

Lynn Woolsey

Russ Carnahan

Maurice Hinchey

John Olver

Betty Sutton

Mike Michaud