New Proposal to Lower Medicare Age to 50 Could Be a Lifeline to Millions

A coalition of Democratic U.S. senators has reintroduced a proposal to lower the qualifying age for Medicare from 65 to 50, reports Yahoo! Finance . "When it comes to providing affordable healthcare for every American, there is more we must do right now to change the status quo, improve our healthcare system and lower costs," said bill co-sponsor Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.). Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) noted at a press conference that this revision could be life-changing for millions of Americans. Meanwhile, a recent Stanford University study found diagnoses of certain cancers are disproportionately higher among persons 65 and older, compared to those 64 and younger, and determined that "many people are delaying their care for financial reasons until they get health insurance through Medicare." In addition, a 2019 University of Michigan survey found more than a quarter of adults approaching retirement have little to no confidence that they will be able to afford health insurance over the next year, while 45 percent have little to no confidence that they will be able to afford health insurance once they retire. Yet both Republicans as well as more conservative Democrats are likely to oppose any changes to the state-sponsored health system.