Obama Health Care plan turns into Medicare extension?!

Obama announces: Public option - dead, new plan - Medicare extension!

Wednesday December 9th,

President Barrack Obama's health care reform plan that originally involved a 'public option' that would have potentially covered all citizens of the U.S. went out the window.

Instead of the so called 'public option' Obama intends to change the eligible age of Medicare beneficiaries.

The U.S. Senate is now weighing the option of expanding the program to people aged 55 to 64. But many may not be eligible, and those who are probably won't get as great a bargain as seniors enjoy currently, after all - expanding the over fed hog that is government spending can't do anything but raise the cost to the taxpayers!

The idea of expanding Medicare has been a sleeper throughout this entire health care argument. It emerged Tuesday as part of a compromise plan to pacify liberals who wanted a government-run public option as part of reform. President Obama embraced the new plan Wednesday.



Senators are also working on an idea to start a privately run, nonprofit version of the health plan enjoyed by Congress to offer affordable coverage to the uninsured.

But details remain incomplete until federal number crunchers add up the costs, which will take several days.

Currently, Medicare rates range from $110 to $353 a month, depending on income, but those are subsidized. The government actually spends about $9,000 per year for each beneficiary, said Tricia Neuman, an expert with the Kaiser Family Foundation.

But those in the 55-64 age bracket would have to pay more - a lot more - especially if the program is launched in 2011, as the Democratic senators' plan envisions.


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