Where Did Paul Ryan Find Inspiration for 'Reforming' Social Security? A Brutal Military Dictatorship, Naturally | Alternet

Where Did Paul Ryan Find Inspiration for 'Reforming' Social Security? A Brutal Military Dictatorship, Naturally | Alternet
"While the Republican Party and its wealthy plutocrat backers have been accused of waging an elitist virtual war against the American majority, both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have financial and ideological ties to rich Latin American elites who have waged real wars against average citizens in their countries."

Romney-Ryan and the Slashing of Medicaid | Common Dreams

Romney-Ryan and the Slashing of Medicaid | Common Dreams
"If he wins, Medicaid — which now covers more than 50 million Americans, and which President Obama would expand further as part of his health reform — will face savage cuts. Estimates suggest that a Romney victory would deny health insurance to about 45 million people who would have coverage if he lost, with two-thirds of that difference due to the assault on Medicaid."

Surrogates Admit Romney Will Cut Current Medicare Benefits

Surrogates Admit Romney Will Cut Current Medicare Benefits
"Brian Beutler at TPM explains why Romney is lying when he assures voters that he won't change Medicare at all for those 55 and up -- because raising the retirement age is a cut:"

Medicare's 'death spiral' under Romney/Ryan voucher plan confirmed in new study

Medicare's 'death spiral' under Romney/Ryan voucher plan confirmed in new study
"Another study finds that the voucher system Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan envision for Medicare will cause the program's demise."

States Refusing To Expand Medicaid Will Cost Hospitals Over 50 Billion Dollars

States Refusing To Expand Medicaid Will Cost Hospitals Over 50 Billion Dollars: According to new findings by the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH), by 2019, safety net hospitals’ uncompensated care costs will be $53 billion higher than originally estimated if states don’t opt into the voluntary expansion of the Medicaid program under Obamacare. Safety net hospitals serve areas where, on average, 14.9 percent [...]/p

Votes Don’t Lie: GOP Senate Candidate Falsely Claims He Never Supported Privatizing Medicare

Votes Don’t Lie: GOP Senate Candidate Falsely Claims He Never Supported Privatizing Medicare: U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) denied supporting a Republican proposal to transform Medicare into a voucher program during a debate with Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) on Saturday, despite voting in favor of such a measure in April of 2009. The Republican Congressman has sought to distance himself from Paul Ryan’s budget throughout the [...]/p

Romney Stars in Ad For Candidate Who Says Medicare And Social Security Are Unconstitutional

Romney Stars in Ad For Candidate Who Says Medicare And Social Security Are Unconstitutional: For the first time this election, Mitt Romney is starring in a campaign ad on behalf of another Republican candidate. Romney’s candidate of choice is none other than Richard Mourdock, the Tea Party favorite in a tight race for a Senate seat, who says things like Medicare and Social Security are unconstitutional. Romney has stumped [...]/p

Rep. Joe Walsh: Of course the GOP wants to end Medicare!

Rep. Joe Walsh: Of course the GOP wants to end Medicare!
"Yes, that's the Republican plan, written by Paul Ryan, voted on by almost every Republican in Congress, and embraced by Mitt Romney. It took a loose cannon like Walsh to finally admit that fact to the American public."

U.S. Senate Candidate Can’t Detail New Medicare Plan Until He Uses ‘The Computers’ In Congress

U.S. Senate Candidate Can’t Detail New Medicare Plan Until He Uses ‘The Computers’ In Congress: U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson unveiled a new Medicare reform plan during an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal editorial board on Friday, though he didn’t know if the proposal would reduce federal spending or substantially lower costs for beneficiaries. Thompson’s idea, which he said has been already introduced and advanced “by somebody else,” barrows [...]/p

Connecticut GOP Senate Candidate Won’t Talk About Social Security Reforms Because Of ‘The Media’

Connecticut GOP Senate Candidate Won’t Talk About Social Security Reforms Because Of ‘The Media’: Republican Linda McMahon, the former professional wrestling executive who is taking her second shot at winning a Connecticut Senate seat, won’t specify how she would reform Social Security because the media will “bash” the plans, she said after a debate with her opponent, Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy. At a tea party gathering in April, McMahon [...]/p

GOP Congressman Admits Romney/Ryan Would ‘End Medicare As We Know It’

GOP Congressman Admits Romney/Ryan Would ‘End Medicare As We Know It’: During the fourth and final debate between incumbent Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) and his Democratic challenger, Tammy Duckworth, the Republican Congressman openly admitted that he and his GOP colleagues want to “end Medicare as we know it.” Walsh defended the Romney/Ryan plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program, which would provide retirees with a [...]/p

Republican Congressman Says Hospitals Should Be Allowed To Turn Away Patients Who Don’t Have Insurance

Republican Congressman Says Hospitals Should Be Allowed To Turn Away Patients Who Don’t Have Insurance: CONWAY, New Hampshire — Finding bipartisan agreement on any policy is a rarity these days, but lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have supported treating people who show up in the hospital, regardless of their ability to pay. Now, one Tea Party congressman is taking issue with that requirement. Giving literal meaning to his [...]/p

What Billy Koehler's Death Reveals About Romney's Frightening Agenda | Alternet

What Billy Koehler's Death Reveals About Romney's Frightening Agenda | Alternet
Romney, a quarter-billionaire born with a silver foot in his mouth, has shielded himself from the world in which America’s many Billy Koehlers exist. Their paths don’t naturally cross. Billy Koehlers don’t hang out with Romney’s NASCAR owner pals. Billy Koehlers don’t disparage the nation’s elderly and impoverished at fundraisers in the homes of private equity moguls . FDR and JFK made an effort to understand the joys and hardships of the non-rich. But Romney hasn’t. And that’s why he so carelessly called America’s Billy Koehlers a deliberately dependent underclass, albeit one comprising 47 percent of all citizens. Because Romney knows nothing of the lives of the nation’s Billy Koehlers, the Republican nominee can dismiss their medical predicaments as nonexistent and assure wealthy donors he won’t “worry about those people.”

Does the Romney Family Now Own Your E-Vote?

Does the Romney Family Now Own Your E-Vote?
"But these Hart machines are deeply flawed and widely know to be open to a troubling variety of attacks and breakdowns ( http://www.bradblog.com/... ).  There is no legal or other means to definitively monitor and re-check a tally compiled on Hart or other electronic voting machines.  Ohio's current governor and secretary of state are both Republicans."

Report: Quality Of Medicare Plans Increased

Report: Quality Of Medicare Plans Increased: According to an analysis from Avalere Health, the star ratings for 28 percent of Medicare Advantage and 49 percent of Medicare Part D plans improved from 2012 and 2013. That makes the plans eligible for bonuses from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and special markers on Medicare’s plan-finder website. Analysts found that the [...]/p

Romney Told 31 Myths In 41 Minutes During Last Night's Debate | Alternet

Romney Told 31 Myths In 41 Minutes During Last Night's Debate | Alternet
"During the first presidential debate in Denver, Colorado Romney managed to tell  27 myths in his 38 minutes  of speaking time. But at his second encounter with Obama in New York, the GOP presidential candidate — who has run  a post-truth campaign  from day one — outdid himself and crammed 31 myths in 41 minutes:"

Romney’s Seven Biggest Debate Lies | Common Dreams

Romney’s Seven Biggest Debate Lies | Common Dreams
"Here are the seven biggest lies Romney told:"

PERRspectives: Mitt Romney is "Sticking It to Seniors"

PERRspectives: Mitt Romney is "Sticking It to Seniors"
"Now just two years later, it is Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney who will really be sticking it to seniors. His Obamacare pledge to "kill it dead" will erase hard-won health protections today's elderly have gained under the ACA. Romney's proposal to slash Medicaid spending by more than a third over the next decade and give what remains as block grants to the states could jeopardize nursing home care for millions of Americans. As the Congressional Budget Office and a new Kaiser Family Foundation study confirmed, the Romney-Ryan plan to "voucherize and privatize" Medicare will invariably lead to much higher costs for future recipients."

Romney/Ryan-Like Medicare Privatization Plan Would Raise Premiums Nationwide: Report | Common Dreams

Romney/Ryan-Like Medicare Privatization Plan Would Raise Premiums Nationwide: Report | Common Dreams
"An analysis of a Medicare voucher plan generally based on the approach included in vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's budget plan passed by the House earlier this year, says that at least 6 in 10 Medicare recipients would experience higher premiums if such a plan was enacted."

Medicaid Expansion Could Save Michigan Almost $1 Billion

Medicaid Expansion Could Save Michigan Almost $1 Billion: The Lansing State Journal flagged a new report from a Michigan-based health policy group that found accepting Obamacare’s expansion of the Medicaid program could save the state $983 million in the first decade of operation. In particular, the additional federal dollars to fund mental health services for low-income residents and medical care for inmates will [...]/p

Romney’s Proposed Medicare Reform Would Raise Costs For Nearly Sixty Percent Of Seniors

Romney’s Proposed Medicare Reform Would Raise Costs For Nearly Sixty Percent Of Seniors: A new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that the majority of seniors would end up paying more for their plans if the Medicare program were transformed into a “premium support” system, the same model as the proposed Romney/Ryan plan for the Medicare program. In fact, nearly six in ten seniors are projected to [...]/p

The National Debt and Our Children: How Dumb Does Washington Think We Are?

The National Debt and Our Children: How Dumb Does Washington Think We Are?
"While much of the country is focused on the presidential race, the Wall Street gang is waging a different battle: they are preparing an assault on Social Security and Medicare. This attack is not exactly secret. There have been anumber of pieces on this corporate-backed campaign in the media over the last few months, but the drive is nonetheless taking place behind closed doors."

Vice President Biden Stands Up For Seniors And The Middle Class Against Ayn Rand Loving Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan told 24 lies in 40 minutes

The Radical Ryan Health Care Plan That The Vice Presidential Debate Didn’t Mention

The Radical Ryan Health Care Plan That The Vice Presidential Debate Didn’t Mention: Ryan’s cuts harm current seniors. He’s often defended his alterations to Medicare by claiming the changes won’t harm current seniors. He has no such out for his Medicaid cuts. 1.9 million seniors rely on Medicaid to support their long-term care, and under Ryan’s plan they would immediately start seeing losses to their benefits in the realm of $2,500 a year.

At The Vice Presidential Debate: Ryan Told 24 Myths In 40 Minutes

At The Vice Presidential Debate: Ryan Told 24 Myths In 40 Minutes: 1) “It took the president two weeks to acknowledge that [the Libya attack] was a terrorist attack.” Obama used the word “terrorism” to describe the killing of Americans the very next day at the Rose Garden. “No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the [...]/p

Biden v. Ryan: The Old Pro Takes On the Lying Kid | Alternet

Biden v. Ryan: The Old Pro Takes On the Lying Kid | Alternet
"During a discussion of the Romney/Ryan Medicare plan, Ryan repeated the lie that the $716 billion in reduced future Medicare spending were actually cuts to the program. Perhaps that was to be expected. More surprising was Ryan’s riff on abortion."

PERRspectives: 10 Things Paul Ryan Doesn't Want You to Know

PERRspectives: 10 Things Paul Ryan Doesn't Want You to Know
"Both Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney take great pains to proclaim that "I don't want any change to Medicare for current seniors or for those that are nearing retirement." They are pained because the statement isn't true."

Report: Private Insurers Profit by Ripping Off Medicare | Common Dreams

Report: Private Insurers Profit by Ripping Off Medicare | Common Dreams
"New research by health care experts concludes that privately run insurance plans designed to supplement the Medicare system serve no truly useful purpose and instead of helping seniors receive better care, Medicare Advantage plans actually undermine traditional Medicare’s fiscal health."

Insurers hoping for billions in Medicare profits back Paul Ryan budget supporters

Insurers hoping for billions in Medicare profits back Paul Ryan budget supporters
"Health insurers love the idea of the Romney/Ryan plan to turn Medicare into a voucher system. They love it so much that they are rewarding all of the Republicans who voted for it, according tonew analysis by Public Campaign Action Fund (PCAF) and Health Care for America Now (HCAN)."

Romney Says Insurers Should Be Able To Deny Coverage To Some People

Romney Says Insurers Should Be Able To Deny Coverage To Some People: During an interview with the editorial board of the Columbus Dispatch, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney attempted to sketch out the contours of his health care plan and the policies he would enact to help the millions of Americans who cannot obtain health insurance due to a pre-existing condition. Romney suggested that under his plan, [...]/p

EXCLUSIVE: Outside Groups Spend Millions On Ads Featuring Medicare Misinformation

EXCLUSIVE: Outside Groups Spend Millions On Ads Featuring Medicare Misinformation: The false claim that the Affordable Care Act of 2010 cut $716 billion out of Medicare has been oft-repeated in political ads and speeches in recent weeks. The law eliminates current over-payments to insurance companies, limits fraud and waste, and slows the growth of the program. Based on a Congressional Budget Office finding that repeal [...]/p

What Everyone Needs To Know Before Watching The VP Debate

What Everyone Needs To Know Before Watching The VP Debate: 1. Romney and Ryan would eliminate health care for 31 million people who are poor or disabled. Medicaid, which helps poor Americans, some seniors, and children afford health care, is right in the crosshairs of Paul Ryan’s House budget. He proposed cutting $1.4 trillion from the program, a move that would kick about 11 million [...]/p

Only Choice

"It's one of the hardest decisions a family can make ...realizing a nursing home is the only choice. For many middle class families, Medicaid is the only way to afford the care. But as a governor, Mitt Romney raised nursing home fees eight times. And as President, his budget cuts Medicaid by one-third. And Burdens families with the cost of nursing home care. We have a president who won't let that happen."

Romney Champions Medicaid In Ohio, Doesn’t Mention Proposal For Severe Cuts

Romney Champions Medicaid In Ohio, Doesn’t Mention Proposal For Severe Cuts: During a rally in Mt. Vernon, Ohio on Wednesday, Mitt Romney touted the benefits of Medicaid and claimed that all Americans will be able to obtain health care insurance without President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Responding to a question from a woman whose son suffers from Spina Bifida, Romney disparaged Obama’s health care measure — [...]/p

Cameras

Mitt Romney has been branded fairly with the stamp of dishonesty by virtue of the first debate alone.

Gray Panthers, Raging Grannies and savvy seniors

Gray Panthers, Raging Grannies and savvy seniors
"Don't think that Medicare is the only concern seniors have. We care about the economy, the environment, civil and human rights, and because senior women are the majority in this demographic, since we live longer, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention one of my favorite groups of outspoken senior sisters, the Raging Grannies."

Paul Ryan Wants Moochers To Know He's Got Your Number

Paul Ryan Wants Moochers To Know He's Got Your Number
"Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan sincerely believe that people who pay into social insurance for their entire lives and expect to receive the benefit of that compact when eligible are "takers"."

U.S. Arrests 91 In Massive $430 Million Medicare Fraud Bust

U.S. Arrests 91 In Massive $430 Million Medicare Fraud Bust: The Obama Administration has taken Medicare billing fraud very seriously, setting up consumer-driven watchdog groups, issuing strict warnings to providers about gaming Medicare for personal gain, and enforcing strong fraud-prevention measures in Obamacare, all in an effort to curb unsavory (and illegal) practices such as “upcoding” that have the potential to devastate the medically needy by looting the safety-net program’s funds and driving up costs. The recent arrests go to show that the Administration has the bite to go with its bark.

Why Romney Doesn’t ‘Preserve’ Traditional Medicare

Why Romney Doesn’t ‘Preserve’ Traditional Medicare: During Wednesday night’s presidential debate, Mitt Romney tried his very best to convince American seniors and future beneficiaries that his Medicare reform plan would not fundamentally alter the longstanding safety-net program’s structure. The Republican nominee painted his plan as a well-meaning experiment meant to inject some much-needed marketplace capitalism into the Medicare system, theoretically lowering [...]/p

90 Percent Of Seniors Are Satisfied With Medicare Part D

90 Percent Of Seniors Are Satisfied With Medicare Part D: Healthcare Finance News flagged a survey today by Medicare Today and KRC Research that found roughly six out of ten seniors describe themselves as “very satisfied” with their prescription drug coverage under Medicare. Another three out of ten characterize themselves as “somewhat satisfied,” for a grand total of 90 percent: Both categories of satisfaction have [...]/p

10 Most Shameless Romney Debate Lies -- Debunked | Alternet

10 Most Shameless Romney Debate Lies -- Debunked | Alternet
"Romney’s debate performance was chock full of lies, recalling his running mate’s address to the GOP convention, which was also chock full of lies. Hopefully, just as Ryan’s address was dissected and debunked by some media outlets, Romney’s claims are as well, so the debate can move to substantive issues instead of stylistic ones.

Here are ten of Romney’s fact-challenged claims from last night:"

Romney's big Medicare lie takes center stage in debate

Romney's big Medicare lie takes center stage in debate
"There is still the truth here: the cuts to Medicare in the President's plans don't hurtbeneficiaries. The cuts will extend the solvency of the Medicare trust fund because they save the program money in the long term. Romney's plan would make Medicare insolvent by 2016, the end of his first presidential term, if he wins. And that does some serious damage to current retirees."

Health Care in the 2012 Presidential Election: How the Obama and Romney Plans Stack Up - The Commonwealth Fund

Health Care in the 2012 Presidential Election: How the Obama and Romney Plans Stack Up - The Commonwealth Fund
"The report focuses on the following: the number of Americans expected to gain health insurance; changes in the affordability of insurance; changes in consumer protections and consumer choice; help for small businesses; improvement in Medicare solvency; improvement in health care quality; and control of health spending growth. Findings of the analysis indicate that, in each area, implementation of the Affordable Care Act would likely outperform Romney’s proposals."

AARP Experts: Entitlements Critical for Nation’s Aging Majority Minority

AARP Experts: Entitlements Critical for Nation’s Aging Majority Minority
"Social Security, with a current surplus fund of $2.7 trillion and growing, is fully funded for the next 20 years, said Cheryl Matheis, AARP’s senior vice president of policy, in Washington, D.C. Even without modest adjustments it could pay 75 percent of its promised obligations for decades beyond 2032."

Arkansas Teams Up With Private Insurers To Overhaul State Medicaid Program

Arkansas Teams Up With Private Insurers To Overhaul State Medicaid Program: Continuing the post-Obamacare trend toward efficient cooperation between governments, private insurers, and care providers, Arkansas is kicking off a first-of-its kind Medicaid reform program. The state will partner up with its two largest insurers, Blue Cross Blue Shield and QualChoice, in an attempt to provide medical cost transparency to practitioners, increase the efficiency and quality [...]/p