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The Real Medicare Question by Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post | August 17, 2012
Everyone agrees that something has to be done about skyrocketing costs for Medicare and Medicaid, the health-care program for the poor. The question is what do we want Medicare to be? There is no reason Medicare cannot be reformed as social insurance. Other industrialized countries provide universal health coverage for their entire populations for a fraction of what we spend in the United States, and those other countries achieve equal or better health outcomes. Surely we can continue to do so for those of retirement age — if we still want to. The question to ask Romney is whether he believes in social insurance — whether his objections to the way Obama has begun to reform Medicare are fiscal or ideological. Ask him and Ryan whether they agree that markets are often efficient but seldom compassionate. Ask him whether he sees the free market as our servant or our master. read more »How Romney and Ryan Plan to Close Your Family Planning Clinic by Dana Liebelson, Mother Jones | August 17, 2012
If you want to know what a Mitt Romney presidency and a Paul Ryan vice-presidency would mean for your local family planning clinic, look at what happened in Texas and Ryan's home state of Wisconsin. Women's health clinics around the country rely on federal funding for family planning. Almost all of that money comes from two sources: Medicaid, the joint federal-state health care program for low-income people, pregnant women, and infants; and the decades old program known as Title X. GOP governors like Texas's Rick Perry and Wisconsin's Scott Walker have targeted both of these income streams in their states, blocking many clinics from receiving crucial funds. But Romney and Ryan would gut both programs on the federal level, all but ensuring that clinics in blue states have to close, too. read more »7 Reasons Why Romney-Ryan's Desperate Attempts to Spin Medicare Won't Work by Joshua Holland, alternet.org | August 16, 2012
In May, the Romney team promised a laser-like focus on the economy . But that was then and this is now. This week, Romney changed the conversation when he caved to his right flank and chose Paul Ryan as his running mate, a man known for a budget proposal that's so toxic voters in focus groups, “simply refused to believe any politician would do such a thing.” Now, the Romney team is trying to avoid a backlash against the Ryan plan's most loathesome feature (replacing traditional Medicare coverage with a private insurance voucher that would pay for a dwindling share of seniors' healthcare bills over time) by following the old adage that if you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, then just baffle them with your bullshit. But there are a number of good reasons why this strategy is unlikely to succeed. read more »The Republican Ticket's Big Medicare Myth by Ezra Klein, The Washington Post | August 14, 2012
I’ve got a modest proposal: You’re not allowed to demand a “serious conversation” over Medicare unless you can answer these three questions: 1) Mitt Romney says that “unlike the current president who has cut Medicare funding by $700 billion. We will preserve and protect Medicare.” What happens to those cuts in the Ryan budget? 2) What is the growth rate of Medicare under the Ryan budget? 3) What is the growth rate of Medicare under the Obama budget? The answers to these questions are, in order, “it keeps them,” “GDP+0.5%,” and “GDP+0.5%.” Let’s be very clear on what that means: Ryan’s budget — which Romney has endorsed — keeps Obama’s cuts to Medicare, and both Ryan and Obama envision the same long-term spending path for Medicare. The difference between the two campaigns is not in how much they cut Medicare, but in how they cut Medicare. read more »The Coming Obama Landslide by Jamelle Bouie, prospect.org | August 14, 2012
In terms of demographics, Mitt Romney has one path to victory: overwhelming support from white voters. At the least, he’ll have to outperform every Republican since Ronald Reagan, and win 60 percent of their votes. And this is if minority turnout is at its 2008 levels. If it increases, he needs even more whites to make up the difference. Seniors play a key part in this coalition. John McCain won 51 percent of seniors, beating Obama by four percentage points. At the moment, Obama’s support among this group is in the low 40s. If the former Massachusetts governor can outperform McCain and crush Obama among older Americans, he can eke out a narrow win. But if Obama can hold his own — and move closer to his 2008 total — he’ll have secured victory. Enter Paul Ryan. read more »The GOP Still Wants to Gut Medicaid by Terrance Heath, OurFuture.org | August 14, 2012
Sometimes there no joy in being right. Sometimes it's just no fun to say "I told ya so." This is one of those times. Depending on whom you ask, Mitt Romney choice of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as a running mate is either inspired or insane; bold or boneheaded; a opportunity for meaningful debate or a triumph of theory. But without a doubt, Romney's pick or Ryan as his running mate has revived the Ryan's seminal budget document, The Path to Prosperity, which would end Medicare as we know it back in the spotlight. (It's OK, really. There would still be a program called "Medicare," but the resemblance would end there.) This is already turning in to bad news for the campaign, as Romney can't win without Florida, and it seems neither Mitt Romney nor Paul Ryan can show their faces down there right now. But a few people have noticed something I pointed out at length about a year ago. He may want to give Medicare a witness-protection-style makeover, but Paul Ryan still wants to gut Medicaid. Apparently, so does Mitt Romney. read more »The $700 Billion Smoke Screen by Jared Bernstein, jaredbernsteinblog.com | August 14, 2012
In posts about the Ryan pick, I’ve argued that if we in the commentariat and the media get this right, the American electorate could have a salutary debate on the role of government. But, I stressed, that’s a big “if.” We particularly need an eagle-eyed media to cut through the inaccurate and misleading stances that show up with increasing frequency around this time. A classic, for example, is the one I talked about with Rachel Maddow last night: the claim that President Obama is “destroying Medicare” by reducing its growth rate to the tune of $700 billion in the Affordable Care Act. Rep Ryan has precisely the same cut in his budget. The difference is what they do with the savings. read more »The Difference Between Obama And Ryan’s Medicare Cuts by Sahil Kapur, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com | August 14, 2012
Lost in the back and forth between the Obama and Romney campaigns over who’s the real Medicare cutter is a critical difference between visions: President Obama’s plan is to make the program solvent by reducing payments to health care providers, while Rep. Paul Ryan achieves his savings by transforming Medicare into a voucher-like system. The Medicare cuts, passed in the Affordable Care Act, come in the form of reimbursement reductions to hospitals, Medicaid prescription drugs and private insurance plans under Medicare Advantage. The Congressional Budget Office projects that they’ll extend the solvency of Medicare by eight years. Ryan’s plan would end Medicare as an insurance program that directly pays medical bills for the elderly, and replace it with a fixed subsidy which seniors may use to buy competing private and public insurance policies on an exchange. The CBO projects that Ryan’s plan would raise seniors’ out-of-pocket expenses by $6,500 per year. read more »Romney's Health Care Dilemma Returns by Paul Waldman, prospect.org | August 10, 2012
Mitt Romney has been so busy securing his Republican base that he hasn't had time to court independent voters, the ones who will actually decide this election. But now, probably by accident, he has an opportunity to show them that he's something other than a slave to his party's right wing. Will he take it? When Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul committed the apparently unpardonable sin of praising the health care law Mitt Romney passed as governor of Massachusetts, was she making a horrible mistake that made everyone in Romney headquarters gasp in horror, or was she just reflecting what her candidate actually believes? The answer to that question would tell us where Romney is going to go from here on health care, and whether he may at long last try to find some issue on which he can convince voters he's something more than a vessel for whatever his party's right wing wants to do to the country. read more »Medicare For Everyone by Tom Elben, kentucky.com | August 9, 2012
Medicare turned 47 years old last Monday. Bill Mahan celebrated by setting up a booth on Main Street to try to convince passersby that America's health insurance crisis could be eased considerably if everyone had Medicare. The Lexington retiree collected about 125 signatures for his petition. It asks members of Congress to support proposed legislation that would strengthen Medicare, which now covers more than 47 million seniors and disabled people, and make it the vehicle for providing basic universal health insurance coverage But Mahan spent much of his seven hours on Main Street listening to people tell him their horror stories: lack of insurance, inadequate coverage, baffling paperwork, treatment they can't afford to get and medical bills they can't afford to pay. What Mahan mostly tells them is that these problems are likely to continue until the United States has a single-payer health insurance system. read more »
The Latest
Senate Vote on Medicaid, Education Funds Delayed, thehill.com | August 3, 2010
The Senate tabled a jobs measure Monday because Democrats underestimated the package’s cost. Democrats had scheduled a vote to end debate on their proposal to send $10 billion in funding to states and local governments to prevent public teacher layoffs. The package contains another $16.1 billion to help states with Medicaid obligations.
Republican Party Eyes Choking Health Law Funding , Politico | August 2, 2010
Republicans may not be able to repeal the Democrats’ health care reform law next year, but they’re eyeing the next best thing: Deny the Obama administration the money it needs to implement the law. read more »
Commonwealth Fund Analysis Highlights Benefits for Women in Health-Care Overhaul, The Washington Post | July 30, 2010
The law Congress adopted this spring to reshape the nation's health-care system will be especially beneficial to women, because they traditionally have relied on health care more than men, faced more insurance problems and had greater difficulty paying medical bills, according to a new analysis. read more »
High-Risk Health Insurance Pools to Bar Abortion Coverage, mcclatchydc.com | July 30, 2010
Elective abortions will be prohibited and people with pre-existing conditions will be able to get comprehensive benefits without paying any more than healthy people under new federal regulations for high-risk health insurance pools released Thursday by the Obama administration. read more »
Poll Shows Opposition to Health Care Overhaul Declining, The Washington Post | July 29, 2010
Opposition to the landmark health care overhaul declined over the past month, to 35 percent from 41 percent, according to the latest results of a tracking poll, reported Thursday. read more »
Nonprofit Health Insurers Holding Large Surpluses, Consumer Group Reports, The Washington Post | July 26, 2010
Nonprofit health insurers may be setting aside unnecessarily large surpluses even as some of them continue to raise premiums, according to an analysis by a consumer rights group. read more »
Healthcare Reform, netrootsnation.org | July 22, 2010
Earlier this year, healthcare reform was signed into law, and now we will discuss what's next. Panelists will consider the possibilities for state-based single-payer reforms and the role that the netroots and labor can contribute in making them a reality. We'll also discuss overlooked healthcare reform priorities such as patient safety reforms and protection of the public health system. read more »
Some States Say They're Not Receiving the Medicaid Services They're Paying For, The Washington Post | July 8, 2010
Now businesses are rushing to get a foothold in states that outsource Medicaid, knowing the law could add 16 million people to the federal-state program for the poor and the disabled. read more »
States Considering Contracting With Managed Care Firms To Implement Medicaid Expansion , wonkroom.thinkprogress.org | July 8, 2010
Healthcare: Democrats Up Ante, thehill.com | July 7, 2010
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is doubling down on healthcare reform, betting that it will do Democrats more good than harm in November’s elections.
She and her leadership team have seized on new polls that suggest healthcare overhaul’s popularity is rising, and they are urging members of Congress to use this week’s recess to tout the new law.
