People who are still working should help shore up Medicare's finances by paying higher payroll taxes or accepting a higher normal Medicare eligibility age, according to Medicare enrollees who participated in a web broker's survey.
About 47% of the eHealth survey participants said they supported the idea of increasing the payroll contributions of future program enrollees to keep the program sustainable.
Another 21% supported the idea of raising the eligibility age for future enrollees.
Only 7% were willing to pay higher Medicare premiums themselves, and just 4% thought current enrollees should spend more on deductibles, co-payments and other out-of-pocket costs.
What It Means
Candidates and officeholders who try to touch the third rail of Medicare and Social Security financing may discover that the rail is still electrified.
Survey Details
Web broker eHealth conducted the survey by polling its private Medicare plan customers, about 3,582 of whom responded. The participants may differ from eHealth's other Medicare plan customers as well as from other Medicare enrollees.
