The Savage Arithmetic of the Pre-Existing Condition

The Savage Arithmetic of the Pre-Existing Condition
"Two years ago, Republican Mike Huckabee compared people with pre-existing conditions to houses that have already burned down. Just the other day on the Leno show, likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney voiced a very similar opinion.

They both have awesome health insurance.
 

Do you? Forever?"

Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney: The Committee to End Medicare

Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney: The Committee to End Medicare
"These guys really believe that campaigning on a platform of turning Medicare into a voucher system is a stroke of political genius."

House Republicans vote to end Medicare as we know it, again

House Republicans vote to end Medicare as we know it, again
"The House Republicans made their ultimate dystopian statement today, in passing Rep. Paul Ryan's budget in a 228-191 vote. Ten Republicans voted against it, no Democrats voted for it and 13 members did not vote."

If Health Care Reform Falls, Watch Fox For Clues On Whether Social Security Will Be The Next Target

If Health Care Reform Falls, Watch Fox For Clues On Whether Social Security Will Be The Next Target
"If the Roberts Court's conservative majority strikes down the Affordable Care Act, observers seeking to learn which fundamental safety net provisions the Right will go after next would be well advised to look to Fox News for guidance. Based on the crucial role Fox News played in the rise of the Tea Party and the assault (based wholly on political arguments at first, later incorporating legal arguments as well) on the Affordable Care Act, the network likely will serve as the next campaign's chief communicator and cheerleader. A Fox Business Network host may have provided an early hint that Social Security could be next, and given a preview of what that campaign would look like"

Republican Medicare plan tanks in new poll

Republican Medicare plan tanks in new poll
"House Republicans are sure they have a new message strategy for their plan to gut Medicare that will make the plan not devastatingly unpopular."

By Ditching the Public Option, Obama Gave His Enemies a Path to the Supreme Court | The Progressive

By Ditching the Public Option, Obama Gave His Enemies a Path to the Supreme Court | The Progressive
"If you want to keep your private health insurance provider, fine. But if you want the government, in essence, to be your insurer, then join the Medicare program. This option the Supreme Court couldn’t invalidate unless it threw out the entire Medicare system, which has stood for 47 years."

Why Doctors Are Cheering Obamacare

Pennsylvania GOP Senate Candidate Favors Privatizing Social Security, Ending Disability Payments

Pennsylvania GOP Senate Candidate Favors Privatizing Social Security, Ending Disability Payments: HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania — Pennsylvania Senate candidate Sam Rohrer (R), an 18-year veteran of the state legislature, has already made a name for himself during this campaign as one of the GOP’s most radical candidates. He thinks federal highways are unconstitutional, doesn’t understand the budget process, and has compared driver’s license requirements to slavery. Rohrer also [...]/p

Why Seniors Could Pay $5,900 More for Health Care Under the Republican Budget

Why Seniors Could Pay $5,900 More for Health Care Under the Republican Budget: pOur guest blogger is Topher Spiro, the Managing Director of Health Policy at the Center for American Progress. Earlier this week the Center for American Progress released an analysis of the Republican budget’s Medicare plan, which would provide vouchers to beneficiaries to purchase either a private health insurance plan or the traditional Medicare plan. We [...]/p

Romney Celebrates Health Care Reform Anniversary By Lying About It

Romney Celebrates Health Care Reform Anniversary By Lying About It: pOn the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, Mitt Romney seems willing to say almost anything to distance himself from the fact that his 2006 Massachusetts health care law served as a template for the national coverage expansion — even if it includes outright lying about its provisions. During an event this morning in [...]/p

Faith leaders condemn Ryan Budget

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‘Ask Voters,’ 70 percent of them want to keep Medicare

Ryan budget would cut taxes for the rich and make seniors, the disabled, and children pay for it | Economic Policy Institute

Ryan budget would cut taxes for the rich and make seniors, the disabled, and children pay for it | Economic Policy Institute
"Reneging on commitments to seniors, the disabled, and younger generations because of an unwillingness—not an inability—to fund our social contract is a choice, not a necessity. Yet Ryan has once again unabashedly decided to aid the very fortunate at the expense of the rest of us—particularly the most vulnerable."

ESTIMATE: At Least 48 Million Could Become Uninsured Under Paul Ryan’s Budget

ESTIMATE: At Least 48 Million Could Become Uninsured Under Paul Ryan’s Budget: pSince Paul Ryan’s new budget eliminates $1.5 trillion from the Affordable Care Act, cuts $770 billion from Medicaid and reduces Medicare spending by $200 billion, Ezra Klein points out that “it would be very interesting to see an estimate of the uninsured population under Ryan’s budget.” The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of Ryan’s plan [...]/p

Fox News Lies; An Elderly Woman Dies

Fox News Lies; An Elderly Woman Dies
"it seems, she got her news from Fox. It's not hard to understand where she got the idea that "Obamacare" had death panels. Just three days before Mrs. Culpepper's death, they were still calling them death panels. Republicans have been working hard (with the cooperation of some turncoat Democrats) to repeal that board, which is really the last best hope we have for keeping Medicare out of the crosshairs of budget hawks."

The 5 Worst Things About The House GOP’s Budget

The 5 Worst Things About The House GOP’s Budget:
Ryan and the GOP have the social safety net and Medicare in their sights, and yet again, they’re attempting to pass the cost of massive tax breaks for corporations and the rich off to middle and lower-income Americans.

Three Reasons Why The Medicare Reforms In Ryan’s New ‘Path To Prosperity’ Still Set Us On The Wrong Track

Three Reasons Why The Medicare Reforms In Ryan’s New ‘Path To Prosperity’ Still Set Us On The Wrong Track: pHouse Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) has released a new version of his ‘Path To Prosperity’ budget that makes significant concessions from Ryan’s original plan to privatize the Medicare program, but would still take us down a fairly bumpy road that could throw many seniors out of the car altogether. Like last year’s Ryan/Wyden reform [...]/p

Candidate Running Against Corrupt Eric Cantor, David Hunsicker Talks About Medicare And Social Security

Seniors Saved $2.16 Billion On Prescriptions Last Year

Seniors Saved $2.16 Billion On Prescriptions Last Year: pThe Department of Health and Human Services will announce today that nearly 4 million seniors saved $2.16 billion on prescription medications last year thanks to the health care law. Under the law, prescription medication in the so-called “doughnut hole,” or the gap area between traditional and catastrophic coverage levels, must be discounted by 50% until [...]/p

Senate GOP Presents Bill Ending Traditional Medicare, Putting Seniors Into Private Plans

Senate GOP Presents Bill Ending Traditional Medicare, Putting Seniors Into Private Plans
"Oh, here we go again. Remember, the Republican game plan is not just to pass the legislation — it's to firstmake the legislation seem reasonable. Thus, under the guise of "helping," they offer what appears to be a better deal to seniors, knowing it's actually a time bomb that will undermine the federal employee coverageand destroy Medicare."

PERRspectives: Oregon, Massachusetts Gains Bolster Obama Health Care Reform

PERRspectives: Oregon, Massachusetts Gains Bolster Obama Health Care Reform
"The Affordable Care Act is working. 2.5 million more young adults ages 19 to 26 now have health insurance. The shrinking of the Medicare "donut hole" allowed 3.6 million seniors to save $2.1 billion on their prescription drugs last year. And the ban on insurers refusing to cover pre-existing conditions is saving lives."

Mitt Romney Declines To Enroll In Medicare So He Can Destroy It

Mitt Romney Declines To Enroll In Medicare So He Can Destroy It
"Romney has endorsed the Paul Ryan Medicare plan which would voucherize Medicare and leave senior citizens floundering on their own with private insurance companies."

Mitt Romney announces he won't enroll in Medicare. And he doesn't want anybody else to either.

Mitt Romney announces he won't enroll in Medicare. And he doesn't want anybody else to either.
"Romney's decision is a window into the future that he promises to deliver. Instead of a Medicare program that directly provides coverage, Romney wants seniors to obtain coverage from private insurers. Depending on their income and personal wealth, a portion of that coverage would be subsidized, but the guaranteed coverage of Medicare would be eliminated."

Pro-GOP Pharmaceutical Front Group Running Deceitful Attack Ads Against Senate Democrats

Pro-GOP Pharmaceutical Front Group Running Deceitful Attack Ads Against Senate Democrats: pThe 60 Plus Association has launched a series of “issue ads” attacking Senate Democrats up for re-election this November. On the surface, they appear to be a concerned group of senior citizens worried about the future of Medicare — but a closer examination reveals that the ads are really dishonest hits by an industry front [...]/p

Mitt Romney embraces the GOP's big Medicare lie

Mitt Romney embraces the GOP's big Medicare lie
"Substance aside, this is as fundamentally dishonest as Romney has been on any policy issue. He's smart enough, and has a sophisticated enough grasp of health care policy (Romneycare and all that) to know that this statement is nothing but flat out lies. Which gives a very simple answer to Sargent's basic question: "Is there any limit to Mitt Romney’s dishonesty?"

On The Day He Qualifies For Medicare, Romney Touts Mistruths About The Program

On The Day He Qualifies For Medicare, Romney Touts Mistruths About The Program: pOn the day of Mitt Romney’s 65th birthday — officially making him eligible for Medicare — his campaign has released five questions about Medicare for President Obama, ranging from why the president is “ending medicare as we know it” to why he’s “creating an unaccountable board to ration care.” The only problem? None of the [...]/p

How Rep. Ryan’s Reintroduced Medicare Proposal Could Drive Up Health Care Costs For Seniors

How Rep. Ryan’s Reintroduced Medicare Proposal Could Drive Up Health Care Costs For Seniors: pLater this month, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R) will release his proposed budget, likely including his plan with Rep. Ron Wyden (D-OR) to transform Medicare. But while some see the revamped plan, which Mitt Romney has embraced, as an improvement over Ryan’s previous plan to block grant Medicare, critics argue the changes could be [...]/p

ACA Ends Lifetime Limits For 105 Million Americans

ACA Ends Lifetime Limits For 105 Million Americans: pAt least 105 million Americans have benefited from a provision in the Affordable Care Act that eliminates lifetime limits on health benefits, a report released by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius finds. Although some plans already provided coverage without dollar limits on lifetime benefits, millions of Americans were enrolled in programs that did [...]/p

Health Law Guide - AARP

Health Law Guide - AARP
"Are you looking for information about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its benefits for you and your family? A new online tool from AARP is good place to start."

New Guide Offers Personalized Reports on Affordable Care Act Benefits

New Guide Offers Personalized Reports on Affordable Care Act Benefits
"Are you looking for information about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its benefits for you and your family? A new online tool from AARP is good place to start."

A decade of declines in employer-sponsored health insurance coverage | Economic Policy Institute

A decade of declines in employer-sponsored health insurance coverage | Economic Policy Institute
"The current economic downturn highlights the degree to which Americans under age 65 rely on a healthy labor market for almost all facets of economic security—particularly access to health care."

POLL: Democrats Have Advantage In Medicare, Contraception Debates

POLL: Democrats Have Advantage In Medicare, Contraception Debates: pMore people agree with Democrats that the U.S. needs to maintain a defined set of benefits in traditional Medicare, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Seventy percent of respondents, including 53 percent of Republicans, said they want to keep Medicare as it is. This come ahead of the introduction of the [...]/p