pShould we raise or lower the Medicare age?

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Results

37 %

Keep it at 65

29 %

Raise it to 67

20 %

Lower it to 61

1 more option

@Dec '12 c 67 comments V 217 votes

Detailed Results Next Debate Vote Now

Activity Stmts Popular

217 Votes

u

u

2 hr
Wafflecone endorsed Cheenoguy

v Change it some other way
2 hr
Dan95066 voted

v Raise it to 67
u

4 hr
DemonsAngel13 endorsed Keyjo

v Change it some other way
Tue
9MileTrucking voted

v Lower it to 61
u

Mon
DesignerLM voted

v Keep it at 65
May 19
DanielZ voted

v Keep it at 65
u

May 18
DrSilicon voted

v Raise it to 67
May 17

NoAmnestyEVER

v Raise it to 67

People are living way longer, plus the fact that we cannot possible maintain this socialist system with millions and millions and millions and millions of illegal aliens coming in, and their anchor babies who ALL qualify for medicare and every other government gimme.

Post
May 16
ddj8694 voted

v Keep it at 65
May 14
JoeJared voted

v Keep it at 65
u

May 14
HouTx79 voted

v Keep it at 65
u

May 13

Grubby

v Raise it to 67

The country can't afford Medicare anymore. It needs to change or we are in big trouble.

Post
May 13
Fyi1957 endorsed PayThatCEO

v Keep it at 65
u

May 12
SamSpade endorsed PoliticalSpice

v Lower it to 61
u

May 12
URBS voted

v Keep it at 65
u

May 12
Poppie endorsed Tralee

v Raise it to 67
u

May 12
Rpete endorsed PayThatCEO

v Keep it at 65
May 11
mwr voted

v Lower it to 61
May 11

marine1

v Raise it to 67

It makes sense to raise it as we are all working longer because retirement aint what it use to be and it will lesson the burden on a system that benifits those who most need it. to lower the age would cause more hardship and harm than good.

Post
u

May 11
RoyFloyd endorsed Cheenoguy

v Change it some other way
u

May 10

4PeteSake

v Keep it at 65

Hands off Medicare and Social Security!

Post
u

May 10
LilliB voted

v Keep it at 65
May 7
ZombieMedic voted

v Keep it at 65
May 5

harold_lloyd

v Keep it at 65

Add a means test.

Post
May 5

oldman75

v Change it some other way

Easy as pie . Raise the cap from 110,000 to 1,000,000 . When I was working I stopped paying the first of December. I didn't make over 150K . Five percent of 110,000 is 5500-Five percent of 1,000,000 is 50,000 . One millionaire,paying the same as normal people,would pay for five retirees,. Raising cap is estimated to keep SS and medicare fluent for at least 100 years .Back before the sainted Reagan millionaires paid far more than that amount.

Post
May 5

Calfkiller

v Keep it at 65

It has been set at 65 as a reaction to our current situation. We need to stop taking it out on the people that gave us this great country, which we have commenced to screw up. We need to fix our problems rather than disrespecting our elders for the fact that we screwed up what they gave us.

Post
May 5
Fitz voted

v Keep it at 65
May 4
Politic-n voted

v Keep it at 65
May 4
Keystroke voted

v Raise it to 67
u

May 4

fraps

v Change it some other way

There are multiple problems to fix. Medicare and Social should be linked and work pretty much the same way. First the program should be based on the actuarial life expectancy. When Social Security was made lawin 1935 a mans life expectancy was not quite 60. Full benefits were paid at 65. By 2010 life expectancy was almost 79! This leads me to a conclusion that both programs need a serious adjustment to the age when benefits begin. I wii be significantly more generous then FDR? Insread of starting full payments 5 years after a persons life expectancy I would have them start 3 years before. I would start immediately by introducing the start age by 6 monhs for each year b...

Post
u

May 3
kimmie99 voted

v Keep it at 65
May 1
Deste66 voted

v Lower it to 61
May 1
Bill2E voted

v Raise it to 67
May 1
LonePalm endorsed methinks

v Raise it to 67
u

May 1
treedcat25 endorsed MarkJM

v Raise it to 67
Apr 30
piolinpdx endorsed Bischen1

v Change it some other way
Apr 30
PaulBartomioli endorsed methinks

v Raise it to 67
Apr 30
Dawns voted

v Raise it to 67
Apr 30
darkmoonman endorsed methinks

v Raise it to 67
Apr 30
loganrollo voted

v Raise it to 67
Apr 29
MarkColwell endorsed PoliticalSpice

v Lower it to 61
Apr 29
LGRepublican endorsed methinks

v Raise it to 67
u

Apr 29
DotsonB voted

v Change it some other way
Apr 28
Mnementh voted

v Keep it at 65
Apr 27
FatTony14 voted

v Raise it to 67
u

Apr 27
blueberrysyrup voted

v Change it some other way
u

Apr 27
toledodude voted

v Lower it to 61
Apr 26
akjep6 voted

v Lower it to 61
Apr 26
wonka45ACP voted

v Keep it at 65
u

Apr 26
BossTweed endorsed methinks

v Raise it to 67

May 17

NoAmnestyEVER

v Raise it to 67

People are living way longer, plus the fact that we cannot possible maintain this socialist system with millions and millions and millions and millions of illegal aliens coming in, and their anchor babies who ALL qualify for medicare and every other government gimme.

Post
u

May 13

Grubby

v Raise it to 67

The country can't afford Medicare anymore. It needs to change or we are in big trouble.

Post
May 11

marine1

v Raise it to 67

It makes sense to raise it as we are all working longer because retirement aint what it use to be and it will lesson the burden on a system that benifits those who most need it. to lower the age would cause more hardship and harm than good.

Post
u

May 10

4PeteSake

v Keep it at 65

Hands off Medicare and Social Security!

Post
May 5

harold_lloyd

v Keep it at 65

Add a means test.

Post
May 5

oldman75

v Change it some other way

Easy as pie . Raise the cap from 110,000 to 1,000,000 . When I was working I stopped paying the first of December. I didn't make over 150K . Five percent of 110,000 is 5500-Five percent of 1,000,000 is 50,000 . One millionaire,paying the same as normal people,would pay for five retirees,. Raising cap is estimated to keep SS and medicare fluent for at least 100 years .Back before the sainted Reagan millionaires paid far more than that amount.

Post
May 5

Calfkiller

v Keep it at 65

It has been set at 65 as a reaction to our current situation. We need to stop taking it out on the people that gave us this great country, which we have commenced to screw up. We need to fix our problems rather than disrespecting our elders for the fact that we screwed up what they gave us.

Post
u

May 4

fraps

v Change it some other way

There are multiple problems to fix. Medicare and Social should be linked and work pretty much the same way. First the program should be based on the actuarial life expectancy. When Social Security was made lawin 1935 a mans life expectancy was not quite 60. Full benefits were paid at 65. By 2010 life expectancy was almost 79! This leads me to a conclusion that both programs need a serious adjustment to the age when benefits begin. I wii be significantly more generous then FDR? Insread of starting full payments 5 years after a persons life expectancy I would have them start 3 years before. I would start immediately by introducing the start age by 6 monhs for each year b...

Post
Mar '13

meHereInKS

v Lower it to 61

Are we not "working" just by living the life we live? <g> I say lower it, so one can enjoy what few years they have left. Are we working to live, or living to work?

r2 replies

Post
u

May 4

fraps

The few years are talking about is close to 20!

Post @fraps
May 5

meHereInKS

@fraps Oh!! That embarassingly shows what I know, lol! (eeps!)

Post @meHereInKS
Jan '13

Ironicguy

v Keep it at 65

If it ain't broke don't fix it plain and simple!

Post
Dec '12

mrbean17

v Change it some other way

Enough with the idea that we need privatized healthcare, the United States is the only industrialized nation without a universal healthcare system, yet we lag far behind countries such as Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Japan behind poverty, life expectancy, and standards of living and quality of life. Why? it is the immoral actions of insurance companies who continue to value profit over human lives. Time and again we have let insurance companies compete in the hope that they would drive down prices, but all they have done is "compete" to see who can cut their coverage the most and turn the largest profit while even raising their prices, indicated by the fact th...

Post
Dec '12

jono

v Lower it to 61

Lowering Medicare eligibility age (even to 55) will increase healthy vs. ill demographics and bring more revenue, reduce expense per capita on Medicare population, lower employee health costs (as older employees move to Medicare), and protect a population of folks who if they lose employment often cannot afford insurance as individuals.

Post
u

Dec '12

MellowGuy

v Lower it to 61

Some people are no longer able to work at age 61 and wouldn't have any other access to health insurance. Having health insurance at an earlier age would enable preventative medicine, reducing future medical costs.

Post
u

Dec '12

RealHonesTruth

v Change it some other way

MEDICARE FOR ALL...stop letting corporations use our health as a way to pay their CEO $500 Million dollars like United Healthcare

B1

Post
Dec '12

scotta

v Keep it at 65

Everything the government has its hands in turns to trash. Medicare Social Security anything handling tax payers money is a disaster waiting to happen.

e1 endorsed

Post
u

Dec '12

vws

v Change it some other way

Raise the age to 100 - should reduce the needed funding by at least 5 percent (federal budget accounting).

Post
Dec '12

Jlope

v Change it some other way

When Medicare was designed, they set the age for collection of benefits at 65. The life expectancy back then was 55. Factor in the population increases from the 50's onward, and you have a system that is destined to fail without reform. Why should I continue to pay taxes on a program that won't be around for me to benefit from when my time comes, especially when all these older people who are on it now are blaming my generation for everything and calling us a bunch of free-loaders.

Post
o

Dec '12

srs606791163

v Keep it at 65

Raising the Medicare age will make costs go up for seniors all around. Medicare's pool of healthy individuals will decrease, being that the healthiest group of patients are the ones that are 65 and 66. Private insurance then suffers by inheriting all of the risk of this age group. It isn't beneficial at all.

B1

Post
u

Dec '12

whol

v Lower it to 61

Enroll everybody in it no matter what their age and have it pay 100% of all medical expenses. Get rid of Medicaid and all the BS. Do it like in Europe.

B1

r1 reply

Post
Dec '12

Politicskid

...and go bankrupt like Europe. Please, tell me, where do you suppose we find the extra cash to pay for the expenses and the tax revenue losses because of people retiring earlier? It's plain theft for the older folks to be digging me and my 14 year old peers so deep into this national debt hole, 16 trillion dollars deep. How in the world do you justify it? It'd be as though your average family had $130,000 in credit card debt! You liberals are so concerned about the the future of the envirement for your kids, so why aren't you equally concerned about giving your kids a fair start and not making up for the messes you've created.

Post @Politicskid
Dec '12

AtheistStand

v Change it some other way

Stop giving people like Clint Eastwood and Mitt Romney or anyone else who has millions in the bank Medicare. Millionaires and billionaires do not need Medicare benefits. Save it for the working poor who are suffering in nursing homes and struggling to get simple medications for the month. Again, its the greedy who ruin a good program.....not to even mention the extremely wealthy doctors who milk Medicare or every drop. I work in the healthcare industry and the first thing the doctor or office manager asks about a new patient is "whats their insurance" and if its Medicare they say "do everything you can think of, choose the highest billing codes, and document it well"...

Post
R Load more comments...

Dec '12

methinks

v Raise it to 67

We are going to be inundated with millions of baby boomers in the next few years, plus we are healthier now and living longer. Two more years won't make that much of a difference since many are still working at that age anyway.

B2

e16 endorsed

Post
Dec '12

PayThatCEO

v Keep it at 65

The government is the one that has squandered our social security, just as they've done with our tax dollars. The American people should not have to sacrifice yet again for the unbridled spending of our leaders.

r1 reply

e7 endorsed

Post
Dec '12

PoliticalSpice

v Lower it to 61

I beleive medical care should be a right, not denied on the basis of what one can afford. I think there should be no age on medicare, that all should be covered by it. Repeal Obamacare. Medicare for all. Until we do that any expansion in healthcare access is a move in the right direction.

B1

e5 endorsed

Post
Dec '12

MarkJM

v Raise it to 67

We are living longer these days. Many of us (despite what the media spews) are also keeping better tabs on our health. Medicare can be self-sustaining but at the current rate it won't be so. Raise the age and Medicare will be more solvent for future generations. Keep it as it and that budget will be bankrupt before the next generation is ready to cash in.

B1

e5 endorsed

Post
Dec '12

Tralee

v Raise it to 67

Raise it, we are living well into our 80's now, the idea that one needs to retire and go on government healthcare at 65 is silly. This raise would only apply to someone under the age of 57 NOW. That leaves plenty of years to plan for those two extra years. SS is up to 66 or 67 now so to raise Medicare to 67 in 10 years is not a big deal.

B1

e2 endorsed

Post
u

Dec '12

Cheenoguy

v Change it some other way

Lower the Medicare age to 0. Lets act like the developed nation we still sort of are.

e2 endorsed

Post
Dec '12

Keyjo

v Change it some other way

Remove the age limit and make it available to ALL legal American citizens! Universal health care, hell yeah!

e2 endorsed

Post
Dec '12

stepped_in_it

v Keep it at 65

Are we also raising the age for MEDICAID? How about the age for our (so-called) politicians? Both of those are NOT paid for by the people who use them, yet I never hear "cutting" them!

e2 endorsed

Post
Dec '12

Buzzfriendly

v Keep it at 65

This is how social program go awry. We create them then we start adding things, moving things around and all those little tweaks sooner or later land us in a mess. Since it seems apparent that the government absolutely needs to get into our healthcare business (something I do not agree with) then we need to tare all of these disparaging programs apart (healthcare, medicare,medicaid) and go with one healthcare from cradle to grave. I just can't see any of the programs running efficiently or on budget when there are so many differing factors. In the business world we call it process engineering (Six Sigma in case anyone is interested) something the government sorely need...

e2 endorsed

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