Democrats should drop the age requirements for Medicare ...

[Onlooker]

... I think it would change the whole nature of the argument. They should call the bill Medicare II and keep it free for the elderly, and make it available for sale to others with subsidies for the poor. It should have incentives and penalties to encourage people to get health insurance. The bill should not improve (or lessen) any of the benefits that Medicare currently offers. That can come later. Given that the Republican base is elderly, I think this would make it much more difficult for Republicans to mobilize against, and would keep the legislation quite short.

The Democrats should should introduce a separate piece of legislation, perhaps named after Ted Kennedy that would address administrative issues and the way the government negotiates prices of goods and services. This bill, which would reduce the costs of health care would also be hard to oppose.

If Democrats did this, I think it could be presented a compromise (which it's not), would give liberals pretty much what we want, and would reign in health care costs. I also think this type of legislation could be passed quickly because Medicare is a known entity and it's benefits do not need to be debated.

[stray cat]

1. What should people pay to buy into Medicare - supposedly inexpensive insurance is 12% of your income

according to an article in the NY times - if people were really willing to pay into Medicare at real prices - we could sustain it indefinitely.