Lieberman touted Medicare expansion in September

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Sen. Joe Lieberman was for expanding Medicare before he was against it.

Democrats circulated video Monday from a Connecticut newspaper’s interview with him in September, when Lieberman supported a so-called Medicare buy-in allowing uninsured people as young as 55 to purchase coverage. The Plum Line blog first reported on the video.

The Connecticut independent, whose vote is crucial to the healthcare overhaul’s prospects, had threatened Sunday to join Republicans in filibustering legislation if it permitted a buy-in.

The video from the September interview with the Connecticut Post shows Lieberman talking about the healthcare proposals he has backed over the years, including during his 2006 reelection campaign.

“My proposals were to basically expand the existing successful public health insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid,” the senator said.

Lieberman said he was focused on helping older people who needed health insurance get it at more affordable prices.

“When it came to Medicare I was very focused on a group post-50, maybe more like post-55,” he said in the video. “People who have retired early, or unfortunately have been laid off early, who lose their health insurance and they’re too young to qualify for Medicare and what I was proposing was that they have an option to buy into Medicare early and again on the premise that that would be less expensive than the enormous cost. “

Asked about the video on Monday, Lieberman said his comments were made before the Senate healthcare bill was finalized. The legislation includes subsidies to help lower-income people buy insurance coverage. Lieberman said the subsidies would make a Medicare buy-in unnecessary because the people who could benefit would get subsidies instead.

“This was before the Finance Committee came out with its proposal and I was suggesting various ideas for healthcare reform that did not involve the public option that was the focus at that time,” Lieberman said.

-- Associated Press