Editing Medicare (United States) (section)

==== Changing the age of eligibility ====
A number of different plans have been introduced that would raise the age of Medicare eligibility.<ref name="budget.house.gov">{{cite web |url=http://budget.house.gov/UploadedFiles/PathToProsperityFY2012.pdf |title=The Path to Prosperity: Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Resolution |access-date=January 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110413020014/http://budget.house.gov/UploadedFiles/PathToProsperityFY2012.pdf |archive-date=April 13, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://blogs-images.forbes.com/aroy/files/2012/02/Seniors-Choice-Act-Summary.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713023317/http://blogs-images.forbes.com/aroy/files/2012/02/Seniors-Choice-Act-Summary.pdf|title=Seniors Choice Act Summary|date=February 2012|archive-date=July 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://paulryan.house.gov/UploadedFiles/rivlinryan.pdf |title=A Long-Term Plan for Medicare and Medicaid |access-date=January 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107124033/https://paulryan.house.gov/uploadedfiles/rivlinryan.pdf |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Co-chairs' Proposal |url=http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/CoChair_Draft.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111182901/http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/CoChair_Draft.pdf |archive-date=11 November 2010 |access-date=13 January 2022 |website=www.fiscalcommission.gov}}</ref> Some have argued that, as the population ages and the ratio of workers to retirees increases, programs for the elderly need to be reduced. Since the age at which Americans can retire with full Social Security benefits has risen from 65 to 67, it is argued that the age of eligibility for Medicare should rise with it (though people can begin receiving reduced Social Security benefits as early as age 62).

The CBO projected that raising the age of Medicare eligibility would save $113 billion over 10 years after accounting for the necessary expansion of Medicaid and state health insurance exchange subsidies under health care reform, which are needed to help those who could not afford insurance purchase it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/01-10-2012-Medicare_SS_EligibilityAgesBrief.pdf |title=Medicare eligibility |date=2012 |website=Cbo.gov |access-date=2019-06-14}}</ref> The [[Kaiser Family Foundation]] found that raising the age of eligibility would save the federal government $5.7 billion a year, while raising costs for other payers. According to Kaiser, raising the age would cost $3.7 billion to 65- and 66-year-olds, $2.8 billion to other consumers whose premiums would rise as insurance pools absorbed more risk, $4.5 billion to employers offering insurance, and $0.7 billion to states expanding their Medicaid rolls. Ultimately Kaiser found that the plan would raise total social costs by more than twice the savings to the federal government.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-07-18|title=Raising the Age of Medicare Eligibility: A Fresh Look Following Implementation of Health Reform|url=https://www.kff.org/medicare/report/raising-the-age-of-medicare-eligibility/|access-date=2023-01-06|website=KFF|language=en-US}}</ref>

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden proposed lowering the age of Medicare eligibility to 60 years old.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-05-21|title=Coverage Implications of Policies to Lower the Age of Medicare Eligibility|url=https://www.kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/coverage-implications-of-policies-to-lower-the-age-of-medicare-eligibility/|access-date=2021-06-28|website=KFF|language=en-US}}</ref> A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that lowering the age to 60 could reduce costs for employer health plans by up to 15% if all eligible employees shifted to Medicare.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How Lowering the Medicare Eligibility Age Might Affect Employer-Sponsored Insurance Costs|url=https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/how-lowering-the-medicare-eligibility-age-might-affect-employer-sponsored-insurance-costs/|access-date=2021-06-28|website=Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker|language=en-US}}</ref>