Why Trump's Nominee for Health Secretary, Tom Price, Is Completely Terrifying @alternet:
"President-elect Donald Trump’s likely pick to head the Health and Human Services administration in his cabinet—Georgia Rep. Tom Price—is one more indication that not a single word that comes out of Trump’s mouth can be believed. It is also yet another sign that his administration will be an unfolding horror show of the most extremist right-wing hucksters intent on dismantling America’s safety net and moral standing in the world."
11/30/16
11/25/16
Reminder: Paul Ryan is lying about Medicare and Obamacare
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/11/21/1602672/-Reminder-Paul-Ryan-is-lying-about-Medicare-and-Obamacare
"House Speaker Paul Ryan has done nothing to indicate that privatizing Medicare isn't at the very top of his agenda in the new Congress, with a new president. In fact, while everyone in the GOP is a little unsure of what they'll do about Obamacare, they know they want to gut Medicare and do it fast. So it's worth remembering that Ryan's plan isn't just hugely unpopular and dangerous, it's premised on some pretty big lies. "What people don’t realize is, because of Obamacare, Medicare is going broke." — House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), interview with Fox News, Nov. 10 Our eyebrows went up when we saw this quote from Ryan. It has been a bipartisan fallacy to claim that the old-age health program Medicare is going "broke," which is incorrect […]. But what was notable was he specifically blamed the Affordable Care Act for making Medicare go broke. That’s doubly wrong. Let’s explain. The explanations: no, it's not going broke. As of now, the trust fund can maintain everyone who needs it until 2028. After that, without intervention, it would start paying out less benefits. Not "no" benefits. Reduced. That's if there isn't an intervention of some kind to further cut costs, enroll younger, healthier people, increase payroll taxes, or any other of good policy options for keeping it going. One of those policy options? Keeping Obamacare. Because Obamacare isn't making it go broke. Not at all. In fact, Obamacare has saved Medicare money, and extended the program's solvency by twelve years."
"House Speaker Paul Ryan has done nothing to indicate that privatizing Medicare isn't at the very top of his agenda in the new Congress, with a new president. In fact, while everyone in the GOP is a little unsure of what they'll do about Obamacare, they know they want to gut Medicare and do it fast. So it's worth remembering that Ryan's plan isn't just hugely unpopular and dangerous, it's premised on some pretty big lies. "What people don’t realize is, because of Obamacare, Medicare is going broke." — House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), interview with Fox News, Nov. 10 Our eyebrows went up when we saw this quote from Ryan. It has been a bipartisan fallacy to claim that the old-age health program Medicare is going "broke," which is incorrect […]. But what was notable was he specifically blamed the Affordable Care Act for making Medicare go broke. That’s doubly wrong. Let’s explain. The explanations: no, it's not going broke. As of now, the trust fund can maintain everyone who needs it until 2028. After that, without intervention, it would start paying out less benefits. Not "no" benefits. Reduced. That's if there isn't an intervention of some kind to further cut costs, enroll younger, healthier people, increase payroll taxes, or any other of good policy options for keeping it going. One of those policy options? Keeping Obamacare. Because Obamacare isn't making it go broke. Not at all. In fact, Obamacare has saved Medicare money, and extended the program's solvency by twelve years."
Donald Trump promised to leave Social Security alone, but his point man wants privatization
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/11/22/1603103/-Donald-Trump-promised-to-leave-Social-Security-alone-but-his-point-man-wants-privatization
"So much for Donald Trump's campaign promises. He pledged throughout the campaign that he didn't want to touch Social Security and Medicare. As we've already seen on Medicare, that pledge is out the window. Now it's Social Security, too. On Monday, the transition team announced that Tom Leppert, former mayor of Dallas, will be on the "landing team" for the Social Security Administration. Landing teams are charged with interacting with the federal agencies to set up Trump's new government. And Leppert, well, he's a privatizer."
"So much for Donald Trump's campaign promises. He pledged throughout the campaign that he didn't want to touch Social Security and Medicare. As we've already seen on Medicare, that pledge is out the window. Now it's Social Security, too. On Monday, the transition team announced that Tom Leppert, former mayor of Dallas, will be on the "landing team" for the Social Security Administration. Landing teams are charged with interacting with the federal agencies to set up Trump's new government. And Leppert, well, he's a privatizer."
WATCH: Donald Trump Is Considering Gutting Medicare And Giving It To Wall Street
http://addictinginfo.org/2016/11/25/watch-donald-trump-is-considering-gutting-medicare-and-giving-it-to-wall-street/
"If you’re on Medicare or close to qualifying for Medicare and you voted for Donald Trump, you’re a special kind of stupid who just got screwed. House Speaker Paul Ryan can’t wait for rubber stamp puppet Donald Trump to take over the White House. He and his fellow Republicans have waited for years to throw hard-working Americans off a cliff and now they are about to get what they always wanted."
"If you’re on Medicare or close to qualifying for Medicare and you voted for Donald Trump, you’re a special kind of stupid who just got screwed. House Speaker Paul Ryan can’t wait for rubber stamp puppet Donald Trump to take over the White House. He and his fellow Republicans have waited for years to throw hard-working Americans off a cliff and now they are about to get what they always wanted."
11/23/16
Here Comes the Republican Push to Destroy Medicare @alternet
Here Comes the Republican Push to Destroy Medicare @alternet:
"Despite the tension between Ryan and then-candidate Donald Trump, Ryan is now aglow—if not over Trump, himself, at least with the prospect of using his presidency to enact a long-dreamed-of plan to privatize Medicare. There seems to be no concern for the harm it would do to the recipients."
"Despite the tension between Ryan and then-candidate Donald Trump, Ryan is now aglow—if not over Trump, himself, at least with the prospect of using his presidency to enact a long-dreamed-of plan to privatize Medicare. There seems to be no concern for the harm it would do to the recipients."
Inside the GOP’s plans to raid the Treasury to enrich private companies
https://thinkprogress.org/inside-the-gops-plans-to-raid-the-treasury-to-enrich-private-companies-43c17269b839#.wg7fezghl
"President-elect Donald Trump, however, wants to break this link between risk and reward — that is, he wants to make taxpayers pay for roads that, ultimately, will be owned by private companies. And he’s not alone. The Republican Medicare plan jacks up the cost of caring for seniors, while enriching hospitals and insurance companies in the process. The Republican “replacement” for Obamacare, to the extent that such a thing even exists, helps insurance companies maximize their profits while taking away their obligation to cover people with expensive conditions. The Republican Medicaid plan could allow states to shunt Medicaid dollars to private plans that provide less coverage at a higher cost. It’s a great time to be alive — if you happen to run a company that’s positioned to cash in on this bonanza. Sure, it also means less health care for the most vulnerable Americans, less spending for the public good, and less public control over infrastructure such as roads and bridges once the Trump administration is over. But if you want to get rich providing inferior services for a government subsidy, now is the time to cash in!"
"President-elect Donald Trump, however, wants to break this link between risk and reward — that is, he wants to make taxpayers pay for roads that, ultimately, will be owned by private companies. And he’s not alone. The Republican Medicare plan jacks up the cost of caring for seniors, while enriching hospitals and insurance companies in the process. The Republican “replacement” for Obamacare, to the extent that such a thing even exists, helps insurance companies maximize their profits while taking away their obligation to cover people with expensive conditions. The Republican Medicaid plan could allow states to shunt Medicaid dollars to private plans that provide less coverage at a higher cost. It’s a great time to be alive — if you happen to run a company that’s positioned to cash in on this bonanza. Sure, it also means less health care for the most vulnerable Americans, less spending for the public good, and less public control over infrastructure such as roads and bridges once the Trump administration is over. But if you want to get rich providing inferior services for a government subsidy, now is the time to cash in!"
Big Pharma poised to help Trump shape his healthcare agenda
Big Pharma poised to help Trump shape his healthcare agenda
"the drug industry's allies, including lobbyists and senior elected officials who have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in industry money, are taking important roles in the transition and in work on the 2017 agenda."
"the drug industry's allies, including lobbyists and senior elected officials who have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in industry money, are taking important roles in the transition and in work on the 2017 agenda."
11/22/16
Paul Krugman Exposes Trump's Most Blatant Bait-and-Switch Lie @alternet
Paul Krugman Exposes Trump's Most Blatant Bait-and-Switch Lie @alternet:
"the team Trump is assembling is gunning for entitlements. "The transition team’s point man on Social Security is a longtime advocate of privatization," he writes, "and all indications are that the incoming administration is getting ready to kill Medicare, replacing it with vouchers that can be applied to the purchase of private insurance. Oh, and it’s also likely to raise the age of Medicare eligibility"."
"the team Trump is assembling is gunning for entitlements. "The transition team’s point man on Social Security is a longtime advocate of privatization," he writes, "and all indications are that the incoming administration is getting ready to kill Medicare, replacing it with vouchers that can be applied to the purchase of private insurance. Oh, and it’s also likely to raise the age of Medicare eligibility"."
11/18/16
No, Medicare Is Not an 'Entitlement,' and It Is Not Free
No, Medicare Is Not an 'Entitlement,' and It Is Not Free: "House Speaker Paul Ryan wants to raise the Lazarus of privatizing (and phasing out) Medicare from the dead. Paul Waldman of The Washington Post writes of the latest Republican effort to put a dagger through the heart of Medicare: As part of his strategy, Ryan must convince people that Medicare is all but dead already, so we don’t actually lose much by putting it out of its misery. That’s why he says things like, “Because of Obamacare, Medicare is going broke.” This is not just a lie but the precise opposite of the truth, and Ryan knows full well it is; in fact, the ACA extended the solvency of the Medicare trust fund by over a decade. And be warned: Any time you hear Republicans say the phrase “entitlement reform,” understand that phasing out Medicare is what they’re talking about...."
11/15/16
Disability Rights Advocates Are Terrified Of A Donald Trump White House
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/disability-rights-donald-trump_us_582487fae4b0e80b02cefa2f
"People with disabilities and their family members are deeply afraid of what a Donald Trump presidency has in store for them ― and they are already gearing up to resist harmful policy changes."
"People with disabilities and their family members are deeply afraid of what a Donald Trump presidency has in store for them ― and they are already gearing up to resist harmful policy changes."
Paul Ryan has Medicare in the crosshairs: Ryan’s been gunning to kill the program for years — and he senses his moment
Paul Ryan has Medicare in the crosshairs: Ryan’s been gunning to kill the program for years — and he senses his moment
"Today, Ryan finds himself with a surprising opportunity to enact his long-held dream of shredding America’s social safety net like Oliver North going after a filing cabinet full of Iran-contra documents. And first up on his chopping block is Medicare."
"Today, Ryan finds himself with a surprising opportunity to enact his long-held dream of shredding America’s social safety net like Oliver North going after a filing cabinet full of Iran-contra documents. And first up on his chopping block is Medicare."
11/11/16
Paul Ryan Says Medicare Privatization Is On
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/paul-ryan-says-medicare-privatization-is-on.html
"in a Fox News interview with Bret Baier, Ryan said Medicare privatization is on."
"in a Fox News interview with Bret Baier, Ryan said Medicare privatization is on."
The Republican Healthcare Plan: Gut Medicare and Blame Obama
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a50589/republicans-paul-ryan-medicare-obama/
"May I introduce you to Paul Ryan, the zombie-eyed granny starver from the state of Wisconsin? Jonathan Chait in New York would like to explain to you all how you are about to get bamboozled into a worse life than you have right now. "Your solution has always been to put things together, including entitlement reform," says Baier, using Republican code for privatizing Medicare. Ryan replies, "If you're going to repeal and replace Obamacare, you have to address those issues as well. … Medicare has got some serious issues because of Obamacare. So those things are part of our plan to replace Obamacare." Yep. That's what's going to happen to your healthcare, gentlemen. And he's going to blame the black guy for it, and my money's all on you guys buying that wholesale. It is, of course, a blatant lie, because Paul Ryan is the…say it with us now…Biggest. Fake. Ever. The Medicare trust fund has been extended 11 years as a result of the passage of Obamacare, whose cost reforms have helped bring health care inflation to historic lows. It is also untrue that repealing Obamacare requires changing traditional Medicare. But Ryan clearly believes he needs to make this claim in order to sell his plan, or probably even to convince fellow Republicans to support it. One of the few positions on which the President-elect was marginally consistent during the campaign was that he would not touch entitlements. However, his economic plan was so stuffed with vague nonsense that I am fairly sure this is what's going to happen: Ryan will come up with some bullsh*t "stimulus" program that is larded with tax-cuts and other goodies, and he will offer it to the White House in exchange for his life's dream of shredding what's left of the social safety net. He will put together a big pot of offal, slap a label reading "Medicare" on it, and then peddle it to the suckers."
"May I introduce you to Paul Ryan, the zombie-eyed granny starver from the state of Wisconsin? Jonathan Chait in New York would like to explain to you all how you are about to get bamboozled into a worse life than you have right now. "Your solution has always been to put things together, including entitlement reform," says Baier, using Republican code for privatizing Medicare. Ryan replies, "If you're going to repeal and replace Obamacare, you have to address those issues as well. … Medicare has got some serious issues because of Obamacare. So those things are part of our plan to replace Obamacare." Yep. That's what's going to happen to your healthcare, gentlemen. And he's going to blame the black guy for it, and my money's all on you guys buying that wholesale. It is, of course, a blatant lie, because Paul Ryan is the…say it with us now…Biggest. Fake. Ever. The Medicare trust fund has been extended 11 years as a result of the passage of Obamacare, whose cost reforms have helped bring health care inflation to historic lows. It is also untrue that repealing Obamacare requires changing traditional Medicare. But Ryan clearly believes he needs to make this claim in order to sell his plan, or probably even to convince fellow Republicans to support it. One of the few positions on which the President-elect was marginally consistent during the campaign was that he would not touch entitlements. However, his economic plan was so stuffed with vague nonsense that I am fairly sure this is what's going to happen: Ryan will come up with some bullsh*t "stimulus" program that is larded with tax-cuts and other goodies, and he will offer it to the White House in exchange for his life's dream of shredding what's left of the social safety net. He will put together a big pot of offal, slap a label reading "Medicare" on it, and then peddle it to the suckers."
Donald Trump Ran on Protecting Social Security But Transition Team Includes Privatizers
https://theintercept.com/2016/11/10/donald-trump-ran-on-protecting-social-security-but-transition-team-includes-privatizers/
"The SSA cannot unilaterally privatize the program. That takes legislation that Congress has to pass and the president has to sign. But if these are indeed the people the Trump administration is picking to helm the SSA, it’s a signal that he may be far more open to cutting benefits or privatizing the program than he let on."
"The SSA cannot unilaterally privatize the program. That takes legislation that Congress has to pass and the president has to sign. But if these are indeed the people the Trump administration is picking to helm the SSA, it’s a signal that he may be far more open to cutting benefits or privatizing the program than he let on."
If you have a preexisting health condition, don’t even think about leaving your job
https://thinkprogress.org/if-you-have-a-preexisting-health-condition-dont-even-think-about-leaving-your-job-f7d26493745b#.uew3rjyf7
"The Trump transition team published a brief summary of the incoming president’s health plan on its website, and the news is not good for the elderly, the poor, and millions of Americans with preexisting conditions. Much of the plan is vague. Trump plans to “Modernize Medicare,” for example, an unclear statement that is likely code for Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) plan to repeal Medicare and replace it with a voucher system that imposes much higher out-of-pocket costs on seniors."
"The Trump transition team published a brief summary of the incoming president’s health plan on its website, and the news is not good for the elderly, the poor, and millions of Americans with preexisting conditions. Much of the plan is vague. Trump plans to “Modernize Medicare,” for example, an unclear statement that is likely code for Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) plan to repeal Medicare and replace it with a voucher system that imposes much higher out-of-pocket costs on seniors."
11/9/16
I’m a disabled American. Trump’s policies will be a disaster for people like me.
http://www.vox.com/first-person/2016/11/9/13576712/trump-disability-policy-affordable-care-act
"Trump plans to slash the main source of federal financing for disability and aging services"
"Trump plans to slash the main source of federal financing for disability and aging services"
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