U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller introduced legislation in the Senate on Thursday to allow people between 55 and 64 to buy early health-care coverage under the Medicare program.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller introduced legislation in the Senate on Thursday to allow people between 55 and 64 to buy early health-care coverage under the Medicare program.
The Medicare Early Access Act, also introduced by Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., will increase access to affordable health care, but also protect the solvency of Medicare, the senators said.
"People between ages 55 and 65 are the fastest growing group of uninsured Americans," said Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care. "These individuals often have a difficult time buying health insurance on their own because they tend to have more chronic health problems that can result in either the denial of coverage, limited coverage or very expensive policies.
Rockefeller, a longtime advocate of expanding health-care coverage, frequently points out more than 47 million Americans have no health-care coverage at all.
The Medicare Early Access Act includes a 75 percent refundable federal tax credit that its sponsors say makes health insurance even more affordable for people 55 and over.
Gary Zuckett, executive director of the West Virginia Citizen Action Group said, "Today's economy makes a bill like this much more relevant that ever. It gives affordable coverage to people who find themselves left out of the health-care system.
"Older workers tend to be less healthy and have a harder time getting insurance coverage if they lose employer-based coverage," Zuckett said. "People who have worked all their lives are at risk of losing everything - their homes, their savings and their dignity - if they get sick."
On Thursday, Rockefeller also reintroduced the MediKids Health Insurance Act to address health-care needs of all children, including millions who have no health insurance coverage.
"It is appalling to me that any child in America doesn't have access to the health care they need and deserve. Kids have to be covered," Rockefeller said.
Eligibility for MediKids benefits would be phased in, starting with children who are born after December 31, 2009. By 2015, MediKids would provide every child in America access to health insurance coverage, Rockefeller said. All children will be automatically enrolled but allowed to leave the program if their parents have health insurance from another source, such as a private company, he said.
Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller introduced legislation in the Senate on Thursday to allow people between 55 and 64 to buy early health-care coverage under the Medicare program.
The Medicare Early Access Act, also introduced by Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., will increase access to affordable health care, but also protect the solvency of Medicare, the senators said.
"People between ages 55 and 65 are the fastest growing group of uninsured Americans," said Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care. "These individuals often have a difficult time buying health insurance on their own because they tend to have more chronic health problems that can result in either the denial of coverage, limited coverage or very expensive policies.
Rockefeller, a longtime advocate of expanding health-care coverage, frequently points out more than 47 million Americans have no health-care coverage at all.
The Medicare Early Access Act includes a 75 percent refundable federal tax credit that its sponsors say makes health insurance even more affordable for people 55 and over.
Gary Zuckett, executive director of the West Virginia Citizen Action Group said, "Today's economy makes a bill like this much more relevant that ever. It gives affordable coverage to people who find themselves left out of the health-care system.
"Older workers tend to be less healthy and have a harder time getting insurance coverage if they lose employer-based coverage," Zuckett said. "People who have worked all their lives are at risk of losing everything - their homes, their savings and their dignity - if they get sick."
On Thursday, Rockefeller also reintroduced the MediKids Health Insurance Act to address health-care needs of all children, including millions who have no health insurance coverage.
"It is appalling to me that any child in America doesn't have access to the health care they need and deserve. Kids have to be covered," Rockefeller said.
Eligibility for MediKids benefits would be phased in, starting with children who are born after December 31, 2009. By 2015, MediKids would provide every child in America access to health insurance coverage, Rockefeller said. All children will be automatically enrolled but allowed to leave the program if their parents have health insurance from another source, such as a private company, he said.
Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.
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If one finds himself or herself without healthcare coverage, such is the result of that individual's poor choices--not due to some evil employer or an unwillingness of others to subsidize the needs of a societal parasite.
Under the present system, no one is denied medical care due to an inability to pay. So, why the need for change? Simple: Politicians need to look busy in order to generate more votes. And given the emotional appeal of "free" healthcare, votes will indeed be generated.
With a national debt of $11,256,266,640,050.20, we simply can not afford expansion of entitlement programs. In fact, given the enormous Obama spending spree of late, we can not afford current entitlement obligations