Podcast Center
Video Center
Webcasts
Resource Center
Events
By 
September 03, 2021 at 01:13 PM
What You Need to Know
- Lowering the age to 60 from 65 would expand Medicare to at least 23 million people.
- The move is supported by President Joe Biden’s American Families Plan.
- Many older Americans lost their jobs and their health insurance as the uninsured rate skyrocketed.
More than 125 House lawmakers introduced legislation Friday that lowers the Medicare eligibility age to 60 from 65.
The Improving Medicare Coverage Act — led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.; Conor Lamb, D-Pa.; Joe Neguse, D-Colo.; and Susan Wild, D-Pa.; Haley Stevens, D-Mich.; and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich. — would expand Medicare to at least 23 million people, the lawmakers said in a statement.
Such a move is supported by President Joe Biden’s American Families Plan in addition to more than 70% of the House Democratic Caucus, the lawmakers said.
“Lowering the Medicare eligibility age will not only be life-changing for at least 23 million people, it will also be life-saving for so many across America who will finally be able to get the care they need and deserve,” Jayapal said.
“Expanding and improving this wildly popular program is not only the right thing to do from a policy perspective, it is also what the majority of Americans across party lines support,” Jayapal continued. “Congress and President Biden should immediately deliver for the people by prioritizing the expansion and improvement of Medicare in the upcoming Build Back Better package.”
