House Dems to Obama: Don’t raise Medicare age

{mosads}”Even though we have made great progress addressing long-term rising health care costs with the passage of the Affordable Health Care Act, and even though the eligibility age for Social Security benefits is gradually increasing, it will do great harm to our economy and millions of seniors to raise the Medicare eligibility age or enact other significant cost-shifting alternatives,” the lawmakers wrote.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was more pointed in her weekly press conference.

“Don’t even think about raising the Medicare age,” she said Thursday.

“We are not throwing America’s seniors over the cliff to give a tax cut to the wealthiest people in America. We have clarity on that.”

Proponents of raising the Medicare age from 65 to 67 say it is appropriate, giving rising life expectancy and the rapidly aging U.S. population.

Opponents argue it would raise premiums for Medicare beneficiaries and not save the federal government much money.

Thursday’s letter came from, among others, Democratic Reps. Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Joe Courtney (Conn.), John Larson (Conn.), Louise Slaughter (N.Y.), John Lewis (Ga.), Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), Allyson Schwartz (Pa.), Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), Frank Pallone (N.J.), Barney Frank (Mass.), John Tierney (Mass.), Danny Davis (Ill.), Henry Waxman (Calif.), Bobby Scott (Va.), Kathy Castor (Fla.), Earl Blumenauer (Ore.), Mel Watt (N.C.), Bill Pascrell (N.J.), Elijah Cummings (Md.), Al Green (Texas), Janice Hahn (Calif.), Jim McDermott (Wash.), Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), Judy Chu (Calif.), Robert Brady (Pa.), Charles Rangel (N.Y.), Gene Green (Texas), Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), Marcia Fudge (Ohio), Corrine Brown (Fla.), Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas), John Yarmuth (Ky.), Karen Bass (Calif.), Brad Miller (N.C.), Peter DeFazio (Ore.), Mike Honda (Calif.), Ted Deutch (Fla.), Yvette Clarke (N.Y.), Sam Farr (Calif.), Jose Serrano (N.Y.), Bennie Thompson (Miss.), Alcee Hastings (Fla.), Jim Langevin (R.I.), Keith Ellison (Minn.), Rush Holt (N.J.), Paul Tonko (N.Y.), Tim Bishop (N.Y.), Peter Welch (Vt.), Bill Keating (Mass.), Chellie Pingree (Maine), Colleen Hanabusa (Hawaii), Jim McGovern (Mass.), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Steve Cohen (Tenn.), John Sarbanes (Md.), Linda Sanchez (Calif.), Doris Matsui (Calif.), Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.), Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.), Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.), John Garamendi (Calif.), David Cicilline (R.I.), Donald Payne (N.J.), Jackie Speier (Calif.), Maxine Waters (Calif.), Kerry Bentivolio (Mich.), Lynn Woolsey (Calif.), Russ Carnahan (Mo.), Maurice Hinchey (N.Y.), John Olver (Mass.) and Betty Sutton (Ohio) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.).

—This post was updated at 4:05 p.m.