First on CNN: More than 100 Democratic lawmakers introduce legislation to lower Medicare eligibility age to 60
By Annie Grayer, CNN
Updated 11:30 AM ET, Fri September 3, 2021
(CNN)More than 100 Democratic lawmakers in the House from all wings of the caucus introduced legislation on Friday to lower the Medicare eligibility age to 60.
This legislation comes as Democrats are working to expand Medicare benefits through their multi-trillion-dollar spending proposal being used to fulfill much of President Joe Biden's domestic agenda. The lawmakers are introducing this legislation with the hopes of it being included in the final reconciliation package.
The legislation, which has at least 125 original co-sponsors, is led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal, who also serves as Progressive Caucus chairwoman, Conor Lamb, Susan Wild, Haley Stevens, Joe Neguse, and Debbie Dingell. The legislation also includes 10 frontline members as sponsors, who represent some of the most competitive districts in the country.
Lowering the eligibility age from 65 to 60 is widely popular across the Democratic caucus, with 70% pledging to support the measure earlier this year. It is even a priority that Biden himself has called for. Lowering the eligibility age by five years would expand Medicare to at least 23 million people, according to the cosponsors of the legislation.
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https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/03/politics/lower-medicare-eligibility-age-democratic-legislation/index.html?utm_content=2021-09-03T15%3A40%3A08&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twCNNp&utm_term=link
