Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley: ‘We Should Be Lowering’ The Medicare ‘Age, Not Raising It’

[locks]

28. young and disabled

I was a social worker for many years; it was heartbreaking that working people who became disabled by a serious disease or injury and couldn't work could not get Medicare for two years. This was especially hard during the years when HIVAIDS patients died before Medicare kicked in. Many of these people under 65 had worked hard and had too much money for Medicaid but not enough to pay the huge hospital, doctor and home health costs. The "reason" behind that sad rule was that the government needed two years to "prove" that the disability was real. If, after bankrupting their families, they qualified for Medicaid, when they received disability payments and Medicare kicked in it did not cover all the meds or services they had received under Medicaid. All of this depended on whether they could find an MD who would take the ridiculously low payments.
The people we elect will never be connected to the rest of us as long as they receive the very best medical care and pay nothing for it.