Liberals May Trade Public Option For Expansion Of Medicare, Medicaid

[tD33NAt]

In exchange for accepting a proposed compromise on a public option in the health bill, liberal Democratic Senators are hoping to win expansions of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, The New York Times reports. "One of the changes being pushed by the liberals would lower the age of eligibility for Medicare to 55, from 65. Another would expand Medicaid to cover people with incomes up to 150 percent of the poverty level." The Medicaid change would represent a 17 percent increase compared with what the current bill calls for (Pear and Herszenhorn, 12/7)...

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