6/30/11
Happy Birthday Medicare!
Happy Birthday Medicare!: "pFast Facts on Medicare Tomorrow marks the 45th anniversary of the implementation of Medicare (July 1, 1966), following President Lyndon Johnson’s signing of the landmark health care program on July 30, 1965. Despite Medicare’s great run, House Republicans voted almost unanimously to end it in order to pay for tax more breaks for Big Oil, [...]/p"
6/29/11
Report: Failing To Raise The Debt Ceiling Would Lead To Immediate Cuts To Social Security
Report: Failing To Raise The Debt Ceiling Would Lead To Immediate Cuts To Social Security: "pSeveral Republicans have poo-pooed the need to raise the debt ceiling when the nation hits its legal borrowing limit sometime around Aug. 2. “I doubt that it would be disruptive to the economy,” said Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA). Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said yesterday that Americans will say “well, good” if the U.S. [...]/p"
6/28/11
6/27/11
CHART: States That Cut The Most Spending Have Lost The Most Jobs
CHART: States That Cut The Most Spending Have Lost The Most Jobs: "pOur guest blogger is Adam Hersh, an economist at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. There’s a new cult of economic thought sweeping the nation — or at least many Republican (and even some Democratic) political circles. Its adherents cling to the erroneous belief that sharp government spending cuts will revitalize economic growth and [...]/p"
Bachmann’s Plan: To Deal With Debt, We Must ‘Wean Everybody’ Off Social Security, Medicare
Bachmann’s Plan: To Deal With Debt, We Must ‘Wean Everybody’ Off Social Security, Medicare: "pThis past weekend, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) addressed the right-wing Constitutional Coalition’s annual conference in St. Louis. She had dropped out of the Tea Party Convention occurring on the same day in Nashville to make the appearance. Speaking to a small group of conference attendees and ThinkProgress during lunch on Saturday, Bachmann outlined how the [...]/p"
Majority Whip McCarthy: Oil Subsidies Off The Table In Debt Talks, But Medicare Cuts Have To Be Part Of The Deal
Majority Whip McCarthy: Oil Subsidies Off The Table In Debt Talks, But Medicare Cuts Have To Be Part Of The Deal: "pHouse Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) blew up debt ceiling negotiations with Vice President Joe Biden last week due to the GOP’s insistence that any budget deal not include one dime of revenue. As we’ve been documenting, the GOP walked away in order to protect Americans making more than $500,000 and large corporations from seeing [...]/p"
6/25/11
6/24/11
Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban On Health Data Mining
Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban On Health Data Mining: "pPharmaceutical companies target doctors for sales pitches through a process known as “detailing.” Data miners comb through prescription records to find out which doctors are treating which conditions with which drugs, and sell this data to drug companies so that they can pitch doctors on drugs they are likely to actually prescribe. If your doctor [...]/p"
America, Land of the Free to Go Hungry | Common Dreams
America, Land of the Free to Go Hungry | Common Dreams
Thanks to Paul Ryan and his Ayn Rand agenda.
Thanks to Paul Ryan and his Ayn Rand agenda.
6/23/11
Five Reasons Why Health Insurers Should Lower Their Premiums
Five Reasons Why Health Insurers Should Lower Their Premiums: "pHealth Care for America Now’s Ethan Rome offers these: 1) Insurance company profits have gone too far, 2) Premiums are going up while medical spending is going down, 3) CEOs Spend Billions on Dividends and Stock Buybacks to Boost Share Prices and Enrich Themselves, 4) Insurance companies hoard cash in the name of “solvency,” 5) [...]/p"
6/22/11
The Koch Echo Chamber
Good video on the Libertarian funders of the Tea Party and what they want to do to Social Security.
6/21/11
Medicare Is A More Accurate Payer Than Private Insurers
Medicare Is A More Accurate Payer Than Private Insurers: "pGiven this recent report, which found that “claims-processing errors among commercial insurers add an estimated $17 billion in unnecessary administrative costs to the healthcare system annually,” Ezra Klein points out that ”Medicare is the most accurate payer, with an average accuracy rate of over 96 percent”:/p"
6/20/11
6/17/11
6/16/11
6/15/11
Texas Follows In Paul Ryan’s Footsteps: House Passes Measure To Block Grant Medicaid, Privatize Medicare
Texas Follows In Paul Ryan’s Footsteps: House Passes Measure To Block Grant Medicaid, Privatize Medicare: "pYesterday, Texas lawmakers in the state house passed a 142-page measure in special session that could drastically change how 6.6 million Texans benefiting from Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP programs receive their care. The bill — which includes two controversial amendments that have yet to be adopted by the state Senate — strongly mirror the reforms [...]/p"
Will Rick Scott’s Medicaid Privatization Dump Granny?
Will Rick Scott’s Medicaid Privatization Dump Granny?: "pLawmakers in Florida are touring the Sunshine State promoting a new law that, if approved by the federal government, would require “most of the state’s 3 million Medicaid enrollees to join private health plans after July 1, 2012.” The proposal “gives managed care companies more control over the program that’s paid for with federal and [...]/p"
6/14/11
GOP Cuts To Food Aid For Seniors And Food Banks Equals One Day Of Bush Tax Cuts For Millionaires
GOP Cuts To Food Aid For Seniors And Food Banks Equals One Day Of Bush Tax Cuts For Millionaires: "pToday, the House is debating the Republican’s 2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill, which, as we’ve been documenting, slashes funding for food assistance, preventing hundreds of thousands of people from accessing aid. In addition to lopping more than $800 million from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the GOP’s bill would cut [...]/p"
Rep. Ryan's Misinformation Tour De Force
Rep. Ryan's Misinformation Tour De Force
Lie after lie from Mr. Ryan. Remember that Ayn Rand was Ryan's driving force behind the destruction of Medicare. Libertarian's consider seniors worthless and no longer "producers". This mindset is behind Ryan's attacks on the elderly and the poor. Social Security is next on Ryan's chopping block.
Lie after lie from Mr. Ryan. Remember that Ayn Rand was Ryan's driving force behind the destruction of Medicare. Libertarian's consider seniors worthless and no longer "producers". This mindset is behind Ryan's attacks on the elderly and the poor. Social Security is next on Ryan's chopping block.
Top 6 Health Care Myths From Yesterday’s Republican Presidential Debate…In One Minute
Top 6 Health Care Myths From Yesterday’s Republican Presidential Debate…In One Minute: "pThe seven Republicans who took part in yesterday’s presidential debate in New Hampshire all promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act without offering alternatives for expanding access to insurance or lowering health care costs. Instead, the GOP fudged the facts of the law and stood by Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) proposal to privatize the Medicare [...]/p"
6/13/11
Memo To GOP: Medicare Is Better At Controlling Costs Than Private Insurers
Memo To GOP: Medicare Is Better At Controlling Costs Than Private Insurers: "pDuring yesterday’s appearance on Meet the Press, Rick Santorum regurgitated this nugget of Republican conventional wisdom: “We need a more comprehensive plan where seniors and individuals are involved in controlling costs. And you have government now controlling well over 50 percent of medical care, and they’re not doing a very good job controlling costs.” The [...]/p"
The Importance Of Medicaid In Three Charts
The Importance Of Medicaid In Three Charts: "pCongressional Republicans are hoping to give states more discretion over their Medicaid programs and ideally push beneficiaries into private sources of insurance coverage. They argue that the program’s costs are growing at an unsustainable rate and that Medicaid’s structure and lower provider reimbursement rates undermine patients’ access to quality care. The party has gone so [...]/p"
6/11/11
6/9/11
Santorum Admits Privatizing Social Security Would Be Very Expensive, But He’d Still ‘Love To Be Able To Do It’
Santorum Admits Privatizing Social Security Would Be Very Expensive, But He’d Still ‘Love To Be Able To Do It’: "pFor years, 2012 Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has been a staunch advocate of Social Security privatization. In fact, he called privatization the “great hope” for Social Security, and even referenced his support of privatization on the day he officially announced his candidacy for president. However, Santorum has tried to have it both ways when [...]/p"
Ayn Rand And The GOP
Paul Ryan's guide to kill Medicare. Libertarian's who follow Rand like Paul Ryan view seniors as worthless. To Libertarian's seniors no longer serve a purpose. This explains the "you are on your own" attitude. This is why Ryan wants to kill Medicare and throw seniors to the private insurance companies.
Rep. Paul Ryan's Truth Deficit
Rep. Paul Ryan's Truth Deficit
Paul Ryan gets caught lying again about Medicare.
Paul Ryan gets caught lying again about Medicare.
Medicare Privatization Will Increase Health Care Spending
Medicare Privatization Will Increase Health Care Spending: "pI’ve made this point before, but now courtesy of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities we get it in convenient chart form. Not only does privatizing Medicare push a larger share of health care costs onto patients, but because Medicare uses market power to bargain down unit prices total health care spending actually goes [...]/p"
Pawlenty’s Economic Plan Cuts Taxes For Millionaires By 41 Percent
Pawlenty’s Economic Plan Cuts Taxes For Millionaires By 41 Percent: "p2012 presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty (R) yesterday laid out his economic “plan,” which is based around huge tax cuts that Pawlenty claims will spark a decade of 5 percent GDP growth, even though growth staying at that rate for that long has literally never occurred in America. As Michael Linden noted, Pawlenty’s tax plan would [...]/p"
Tea Party Plan To "Take Our Country Back"
Tea Party Plan To
One look and you understand that the Tea Party is run by big corporations and seniors are not worth helping. Remember that big insurance would love to privatize Medicare and Social Security.
Gov. Rick Scott May Personally Benefit From New Law That Hands Medicaid Program Over To Private Companies
Gov. Rick Scott May Personally Benefit From New Law That Hands Medicaid Program Over To Private Companies: "pFlorida Gov. Rick Scott (R) signed “a landmark Medicaid overhaul” yesterday that will put “hundreds of thousands of low-income and elderly Floridians into managed-care plans.” The proposal “gives managed care companies more control over the program that’s paid for with federal and state money,” a shift the state GOP claims will “hold down spiraling costs [...]/p"
Rep. Ryan Fits Six Lies Into A Single Minute
Rep. Ryan Fits Six Lies Into A Single Minute
Ryan gets caught lying again.
Santorum Launches Presidential Campaign By Reminding Everyone He Supports Bush-Style Social Security Privatization
Santorum Launches Presidential Campaign By Reminding Everyone He Supports Bush-Style Social Security Privatization: "pFormer Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), who in 2006 was trounced by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), is officially launching his presidential campaign today. Santorum has been making the rounds in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire in preparation for his bid, laying out a radical right-wing platform. Santorum appeared this morning on ABC’s Good Morning America, [...]/p"
The $2.5 Trillion Tragedy: What America Has Given Up For 10 Years Of Bush Tax Cuts
The $2.5 Trillion Tragedy: What America Has Given Up For 10 Years Of Bush Tax Cuts: "pToday marks the 10th anniversary of former President George W. Bush signing into law his 2001 tax cuts (he passed a second round in 2003). While doing so, Bush promised prosperity and growth, but the nation got neither. The cost of these budget-busting 2001 and 2003 tax cuts was, as estimated by Citizens for Tax [...]/p"
Rep. Paul Ryan's Truth Deficit
Rep. Paul Ryan's Truth Deficit
He has a real problem telling the truth.
Texas Follows In Paul Ryan’s Footsteps: House Passes Measure To Block Grant Medicaid, Privatize Medicare
Texas Follows In Paul Ryan’s Footsteps: House Passes Measure To Block Grant Medicaid, Privatize Medicare: "pYesterday, Texas lawmakers in the state house passed a 142-page measure in special session that could drastically change how 6.6 million Texans benefiting from Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP programs receive their care. The bill — which includes two controversial amendments that have yet to be adopted by the state Senate — strongly mirror the reforms [...]/p"
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