Medicare’s political importance goes beyond seniors

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Medicare debate promises to be front and center in this fall’s presidential campaign, as not just seniors but aging baby boomers focus on retiree healthcare. Recent polling data shows that the issue resonates with boomers in key swing states. In Wisconsin, about 80 percent of respondents aged 50 to 64 ranked Medicare as “important” or “very important” in a Quinnipiac University/CBS/New York Times survey taken August 15-21, versus 91 percent for those 65 and older. Florida and Ohio produced comparable results in the same survey. …