Duncan Black:
Eschaton: And lowering the Medicare eligibility age to, say, 0, would save money.
Seriouly, some Democratic Senator should seriously ask CBO to score this:
A BILL…
…to reduce the Medicare Eligibility Age to zero, and for other purposes.
I. SHORT TITLE: This bill may be cited as the "Universal Medicare Act of 2012"
II. ELIGIBILITY: All residents of the U.S. are eligible for the health-finance benefits provided under the Social Security Amendments of 1965, as subsequently amended.
III. INTERNATIONAL: The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized and encouraged to declare citizens of other nations eligible for the same benefits provided he or she is satisfied that reciprocal treatment will be accorded U.S. citizens abroad.
IV. TAXATION: All wages and salaries are hereby subject to the FICA and Medicare payroll taxes.
Scored on a fully-phased-in-in-2020 basis, my guess is that there is a 50-50 chance it comes out positive...
