10/31/11
10/30/11
10/29/11
10/28/11
States Cut Medicaid As Federal Stimulus Dollars Dry Up
States Cut Medicaid As Federal Stimulus Dollars Dry Up: pWith federal money drying up for Medicaid, states are shouldering a greater cost burden and making significant cuts to balance their budgets — just as the economic downturn is expanding the pool of eligible applicants. Since federal stimulus money ran out in June, states have spent 28.7 percent more this year on their Medicaid programs [...]/p
10/25/11
Perry Ditches Idea That Social Security Is Unconstitutional, Adopts Privatization Plan The Public Already Rejected
Perry Ditches Idea That Social Security Is Unconstitutional, Adopts Privatization Plan The Public Already Rejected: pTexas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) views on Social Security have been well-chronicled since he jumped into the Republican presidential primary in July. In the past, Perry has called Social Security unconstitutional and a Ponzi scheme, and in his first debate appearance, he called it a “monstrous lie.” Perry’s assertions were obviously incorrect, and he drew [...]/p
Why Mitt Romney’s Medicaid Cuts Are Even More Draconian Than Paul Ryan’s
Why Mitt Romney’s Medicaid Cuts Are Even More Draconian Than Paul Ryan’s: pMedicaid, which is funded jointly by the states and the federal government, provides health coverage to approximately 53 million lower income Americans. The federal government matches state spending on a per-claim basis and pays a percentage of each state’s Medicaid costs (anywhere between 50 and 75 percent). Conservatives like House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan and [...]/p
10/23/11
Herman Cain Compares Social Security To Slavery
Herman Cain Compares Social Security To Slavery: pWhen it comes to Social Security, the pugilistic presidential contender Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) is normally the one attracting all the attention. After all, he called the program all sorts of names: A “Ponzi scheme,” a “monstrous lie,” and unconstitutional. But the new GOP front runner — pizza mogul Herman Cain — seems eager to [...]/p
10/20/11
Medicare Costs Could Wipe Out Social Security Cost-Of-Living Adjustment
Medicare Costs Could Wipe Out Social Security Cost-Of-Living Adjustment: pNext year, Social Security recipients will see a 3.6 percent increase in benefits, the first cost-of-living adjustment since 2009. Starting in January, the 55 million Social Security recipients will see their monthly payment grow by $43, or about $516 for the year. But increases in Medicare Part B premiums, which must pay for 25 percent [...]/p
10/19/11
Romney Offers More Details On Medicare Plan: ‘We’re Going To Give People Vouchers’
Romney Offers More Details On Medicare Plan: ‘We’re Going To Give People Vouchers’: pMitt Romney has praised Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) plan to privatize Medicare for future enrollees as making “important strides in the right direction” and promised that his own proposal “will differ” but “share those objectives.” During a discussion with the editorial board of the Las Vegas Review Journal earlier this week, Romney revealed that he [...]/p
10/17/11
How Herman Cain’s Social Security Privatization Plan Would Cause The Nation’s Debt To Explode
How Herman Cain’s Social Security Privatization Plan Would Cause The Nation’s Debt To Explode: p2012 GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain — when he’s not mangling the details of his own 999 tax plan — has been singing the supposed benefits of “the Chilean model” of Social Security privatization. Using the right-wing buzzword “personalization,” (instead of “privatization”) Cain claims that this model will provide a better deal for workers. As [...]/p
10/14/11
10/12/11
Health Insurers Fight To Hide Rate Increases From The Public
Health Insurers Fight To Hide Rate Increases From The Public: pHealth insurance companies planning sharp increases in premiums for their New York customers have submitted memos justifying their rate increases to state officials. However, they are fighting to keep those memos from the public, saying they contain trade secrets and that consumers wouldn’t be able to understand them. Benjamin Lawsky, the state superintendent of financial [...]/p
10/10/11
10/7/11
Why ‘Ryancare’ Is Far More Hostile To States Rights Than ‘Obamacare’
Why ‘Ryancare’ Is Far More Hostile To States Rights Than ‘Obamacare’: pYesterday, House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI) predicted that the Supreme Court will embrace the meritless claim that the Affordable Care Act violates states rights and “knock down the individual mandate.” Yet, if there is one person who shouldn’t be hiding behind states rights arguments, it is Paul Ryan. The truth is that Ryan’s [...]/p
10/6/11
Rep. Rehberg: Eliminating Access To Health Insurance Is ‘Most Common Sense Path’ To Reduce The Deficit
Rep. Rehberg: Eliminating Access To Health Insurance Is ‘Most Common Sense Path’ To Reduce The Deficit: pRep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) is encouraging the Super Committee to reduce the national deficit by eliminating access to health care for lower-income families and significantly increasing costs for families earning between $29,000 and $44,000 a year. In a letter to the committee, Rehberg singles out the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of the Medicaid program and [...]/p
Rep. King Dismisses Affordable Care Act’s Closing Of the Medicare Donut Hole: ‘It Isn’t A Significant Piece Of Policy’
Rep. King Dismisses Affordable Care Act’s Closing Of the Medicare Donut Hole: ‘It Isn’t A Significant Piece Of Policy’: pRep. Steve King (R-IA) dismissed a key accomplishment in the Affordable Care Act – elimination of the Medicare donut hole – today, calling it “a minor part of this whole picture” and not “a significant piece of policy.” King made the comments to ThinkProgress following a Republican press conference on Capitol Hill today. The Iowa [...]/p
Corrupt and dishonest Rep. Steve King
Corrupt and dishonest Rep. Steve King
10/5/11
Mitt Romney Doesn’t Know A Medicare Cut When He Sees One
Mitt Romney Doesn’t Know A Medicare Cut When He Sees One: pYesterday, Mitt Romney addressed a group of demonstrators protesting Medicare cuts outside of a town hall in The Villages, Florida. “I saw some signs out there, you may have seen them, that said ‘Keep your hands off our Medicare’” Romney said, “By the way, there’s only one person I know of that has cut Medicare. [...]/p
10/3/11
The Affordable Care Act Case Is Probably Only The Second Most Important Health Care Case This SCOTUS Term
The Affordable Care Act Case Is Probably Only The Second Most Important Health Care Case This SCOTUS Term: pThe Supreme Court is very unlikely to strike down the Affordable Care Act. Several of the most conservative justices have joined or authored opinions that are wholly inconsistent with meritless arguments against health reform. And, while the Roberts Court shows no lack of enthusiasm for cutting back people’s rights, they typically do not do so [...]/p
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)