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An effort by liberal Democrats to lower the Medicare eligibility age by five years could add billions more to the $3.5 trillion infrastructure and social welfare package the party is aiming to pass without GOP votes.
Vermont socialist Bernie Sanders is leading the push to make adults 60-64 years old eligible for the government health program, which could add about $200 billion in spending over the next 10 years to the party's go-it-alone package, according to an estimate by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. This means the yearly cost would add roughly 2.5% more to what the federal government spent overall on Medicare in 2020 — about $776 billion.