Under the agreement, people ages 55 to 64 could “buy in” to Medicare. And a federal agency, the Office of Personnel Management, would negotiate with insurance companies to offer national health benefit plans, similar to those offered to federal employees, including members of Congress.

If these private plans did not meet certain goals for making affordable coverage available to all Americans, Senate Democratic aides said, then the government itself would offer a new insurance plan, somewhat like the “public option” in the bill Mr. Reid unveiled three weeks ago.

I'd go for buying into Medicare. I just hope they make it a reasonable option. Define "insurable". They should make it so that even people who are "insurable" at a very high cost should be able to buy in to Medicare at an affordable cost.

If the expansion goes through, I'll even give pretend credit to all the Republicans who made such a pretend fuss about protecting medicare for the past few months.

This is a much bigger step forward toward a single-payer system than the "public option" ever was or will be.

This sounds great - BUT - word is you can only buy in if your income is less than 150% of the poverty level. That works out to a little over $21,000 for a family of 2.  http://www.ibrinfo.org/povertylevel_2009.html

What a joke!

Here I sit, with Hepatitis C, hypothyroism, Essential Tremor, and 57 years old, and still won't be able to qualify.

As a geezzete,  I should be happy to be able to buy medicare in the near future*.  But my tinfoil hat tells me that this is a "compromise" to get those of us with increasing health problems out of any private insurance pools.   I see the hand of the lobbyists in this.  Us near elders are not going to be profitable,   especially with a bill that limits our premiums to 2-3X the young folks.

 * well I recall the sign in my Drs office -  "no new Medicare patients".  Welcome to 2nd class citizenhood.  Well I guess as a self employed person I should be used to that.