Can Vermonters Win Single Payer? | Common Dreams

Can Vermonters Win Single Payer? | Common Dreams
"While the nation waits for an overdue Supreme Court decision that will decide the fate of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, another health care drama with wide implications for universal health care is just starting in Vermont."

PERRspectives: Mitt Romney's Fatal Prescription for Health Care

PERRspectives: Mitt Romney's Fatal Prescription for Health Care
"His plan to gut Medicaid spending and vague proposals for tax deductions to purchase coverage wouldn't merely leave millions of Americans without health insurance, including hundreds of thousands in his home state of Massachusetts. And as the sad history shows, without help from Washington universal coverage at the state level has a proven track record of failure."

GOP Congressman Says Ryan’s Medicare Plan Would Hurt Seniors

GOP Congressman Says Ryan’s Medicare Plan Would Hurt Seniors: House Republicans approved a budget in April that would drive up Medicare costs for seniors, and Mitt Romney has embraced the plan crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). But not all in the party are in agreement. Ten Republicans voted against Ryan’s budget in April, and now, Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) is campaigning on his [...]/p

Second Republican Campaigns Against Republican Budget: ‘It Harms The Medicare Program Seniors Rely On’

Second Republican Campaigns Against Republican Budget: ‘It Harms The Medicare Program Seniors Rely On’: In an effort to paint himself as an independent who doesn’t always toe the party line, Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg (R) is touting his opposition to the House Republican budget in an ad released by his Senate campaign. Rehberg, who is running to unseat Sen. Jon Tester (D), voted against the GOP’s budget plan for [...]/p

People with pre-existing conditions could be dumped back into the no-coverage world

People with pre-existing conditions could be dumped back into the no-coverage world
"Yes, Ms. Kaine, Republicans and their five allies on the Supreme Court will dump you right back into the world of no coverage. And they'll do it happily."

Insurers will have to pay out $1.1 billion in rebates if Obamacare survives the Supreme Court

Insurers will have to pay out $1.1 billion in rebates if Obamacare survives the Supreme Court
"If there's any silver lining to this, it's that for one year, insurance companies generally didmeet the demands of the law. Before the provision was enacted, health care system experts expected that rebates owed would be over $2 billion. Which means the law did what it was supposed to: make insurers spend more on covering actual health care."

Shock: The traditional media had a conservative bias on Obamacare

Shock: The traditional media had a conservative bias on Obamacare
"the traditional media utterly failed in explaining it. Instead of talking about the legislation itself, the media talked about the process and the political fights. And it talked about it using the Republicans' framing. That's not just a liberal's complaint. It's the conclusion of researchers from the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism."

In Health Care, Give the People What They Want: Medicare for All | Common Dreams

In Health Care, Give the People What They Want: Medicare for All | Common Dreams
"As the nation awaits a Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the Obama health care approach, a new Associated Press-GfK poll suggests that the vast majority of Americans want Congress to come up with a better plan. They know that the current system is unsustainable. Only a third of those polled favored the law President Barack Obama signed, but according to the AP, “whatever people think of the law, they don’t want a Supreme Court ruling against it to be the last word on health care reform.” The article continued, “More than three-fourths of Americans want their political leaders to undertake a new effort, rather than leave the health care system alone if the court rules against the law, according to the poll"."

26,000 Uninsured Americans Died Prematurely In 2010 Because They Lacked Health Care

26,000 Uninsured Americans Died Prematurely In 2010 Because They Lacked Health Care: About 26,100 people between 25 and 64 died prematurely in the U.S. in 2010 because they lacked health insurance, according to a report by Families USA. That estimate is up from 20,350 in 2005 and 18,000 in 2000. The group based its findings on government data and a 2002 Institute of Medicine showing that people [...]/p

Study: Small Business Owners Support Obamacare

Study: Small Business Owners Support Obamacare: Throughout his campaign, Mitt Romney has continued to claim that the Affordable Care Act hurts small businesses. But a new study on small businesses contradicts Romney’s claims. Conducted by a business advocacy group, Small Business Majority, an opinion poll surveyed 800 businesses owners across the country. And the results show that over half of the [...]/p

What's at stake: The SCOTUS and undoing The New Deal

What's at stake: The SCOTUS and undoing The New Deal
"In the next 10 days or so, the Supreme Court will issue its decision in the cases challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA.) One of the results of the decision will resolve whether the ACA survives in any form. Obviously this result is extremely important. But there is another result that will be signalled by the SCOTUS' ACA decision—will the Roberts Court be the engine for executing the Republican project to undo The New Deal and the government programs that followed its lead such as Medicare and Medicaid?"

Senior Citizens Lost $2.9 Billion To Financial Abuse In 2010

Senior Citizens Lost $2.9 Billion To Financial Abuse In 2010: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched an inquiry into financial fraud and abuse against senior citizens Thursday, as studies showing that scams against the elderly are becoming more prevalent. Senior citizens lost $2.9 billion to financial abuse in 2010, a 12 percent increase from 2009, according to research from MetLife. 58 percent of respondents to [...]/p

Romney’s Plan To Outsource Coverage For Sick People To The States Would Lead To Soaring Costs

Romney’s Plan To Outsource Coverage For Sick People To The States Would Lead To Soaring Costs: Earlier this week, Mitt Romneyconfirmed that he would only require insurance companies to provide coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions if they recently had coverage, leaving millions of uninsured individuals in the lurch.

Romney Confirms He Will Deny Insurance To Millions With Pre-Existing Conditions If Obamacare Is Struck Down

Romney Confirms He Will Deny Insurance To Millions With Pre-Existing Conditions If Obamacare Is Struck Down: Mitt Romney confirmed on Tuesday that he would allow insurers to deny coverage to millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions if the Supreme Court strikes down Obamacare later this month. During a speech at Con-Air Industries in Orlando, Florida, the former Massachusetts governor said that Americans who have not been “continuously insured” would not be [...]/p

14 Million Seniors Are Already Benefiting From Obamacare

14 Million Seniors Are Already Benefiting From Obamacare: Medicare reports that 14.3 million seniors in America have already received important preventive benefits under President Obama’s health care law. In the first few months of 2012, seniors were able to take advantage of a number of preventative health services, including an annual checkup, without paying any deductibles or co-pays. “Thanks to the health care [...]/p

NEW DATA: 6.6 Million Young Adults Insured Thanks To Obamacare

NEW DATA: 6.6 Million Young Adults Insured Thanks To Obamacare: Even though much of the Affordable Care Act does not go into effect until 2014, conservatives insist the bill is making things worse for Americans. But a new study shows that one implemented provision of the ACA is already providing millions of young Americans with health insurance. According to a study by the Commonwealth Fund, [...]/p

Lawmakers To Shield Medical Device Companies From Taxes By Increasing Health Costs For Middle Class Families

Lawmakers To Shield Medical Device Companies From Taxes By Increasing Health Costs For Middle Class Families: Republicans in the House will consider legislation this week that would protect the medical device industry from additional taxation, while increasing health care costs for hundreds of thousands of middle class Americans. The measure, sponsored by Minnesota Rep. Erik Paulsen (R), would repeal taxes on medical devices that finance part of the cost of the [...]/p

How Obamacare Has Saved Seniors Billions On Prescription Drugs

How Obamacare Has Saved Seniors Billions On Prescription Drugs: New data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) about the Affordable Care Act shows that the health law already is helping people under Medicare with their prescription drug purchases. And millions of Medicare participants are taking advantage of preventive services available at no cost to them because of Obamacare. Here are three [...]/p

Mitt Romney's budget would gut Medicare, Medicaid and assistance programs

Mitt Romney's budget would gut Medicare, Medicaid and assistance programs
"That's a budget proposal so severely conservative, it's more drastic that the Paul Ryan budget. Ryan's proposing just a measly $5 trillion in cuts over the next decade; Romney would require between $7 and 10 trillion, making Ryan look like a piker. It's also even more unsustainable for the nation than Ryan's plan. There would be essentially nothing left standing but the Pentagon, looking out for the next war. Meanwhile, the casualites of past ones—disabled vets—would be shit out of luck. No wonder Romney won't put this all down on paper."

Medical Students Embrace Medicare for All | Common Dreams

Medical Students Embrace Medicare for All | Common Dreams
'f you ever want to rekindle your hope for American medicine, spend time with medical students. These bright, energetic minds are going into medicine for all the right reasons — to help people, relieve suffering and find new ways to cure illness and eradicate disease."

Meet Pete Peterson, Architect of Social Security and Medicare Cuts

Meet Pete Peterson, Architect of Social Security and Medicare Cuts
"ny lawmaker who thinks it's a good idea to raise the Social Security retirement age and erode Medicare should agree to relinquish their federal pension and health insurance retroactive to the day they take office. If they can't do that, then they recuse themselves from any vote concerning Medicare or Social Security. Seems like a fair deal to me."

House Republicans having a hard time defending Ryan budget vote

House Republicans having a hard time defending Ryan budget vote
"Rep. Paul Ryan's budget and his kinder, gentler approach to ending Medicare as we know it is no more popular in 2012 than it was in 2011."

Insurers Will Pay $1.3 Billion In Rebates To 16 Million Consumers Because Of Obamacare

Insurers Will Pay $1.3 Billion In Rebates To 16 Million Consumers Because Of Obamacare: Thanks to a provision of the Affordable Care Act, 16 million consumers and businesses are expected to receive about $1.3 billion in rebates from health insurance companies, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The medical loss ratio rule requires insurers to spend at least 80 to 85 percent of premiums on patient care; if not, [...]/p

REPORT: Retirees To Save $20K As A Result Of Obamacare

REPORT: Retirees To Save $20K As A Result Of Obamacare: One of the goals of the Affordable Care Act is to keep health care costs from ballooning. So far, it has done some good; the law has already helped push Medicare costs lower, required insurers to keep administrative spending low or pay customers rebates, and created prevention programs to fight chronic diseases like heart disease [...]/p

Health Insurers Owe Millions In Rebates To Floridians Thanks To Obamacare Regulations

Health Insurers Owe Millions In Rebates To Floridians Thanks To Obamacare Regulations: Health insurance companies owe tens of millions to Florida policy holders after they failed to meet an Affordable Care Act provision that limits the amount of premium dollars that insurers can spend on overhead. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation report, Floridians could receive up to $149 million in rebates this summer, even though political [...]/p

Social Security Is Not Going Broke | Common Dreams

Social Security Is Not Going Broke | Common Dreams
"Which federal program took in more than it spent last year, added $95 billion to its surplus and lifted 20 million Americans of all ages out of poverty?"

Consumers In States Hostile To ACA To Receive Higher Average Rebates Than Residents In States That Support It

Consumers In States Hostile To ACA To Receive Higher Average Rebates Than Residents In States That Support It: By requiring everyone to purchase health insurance coverage in 2014, the Affordable Care Act provides millions of new customers to private health insurers. But the law also guarantees that companies don’t swindle premium dollars away on corporate profits and CEO bonuses. Under the law, insurers have to comply with a new Medical Loss Ratio or [...]/p

Obamacare will save Medicare $200 billion by 2016

Obamacare will save Medicare $200 billion by 2016
"The actual experience Medicare beneficiaries, and particularly seniors, have had with the Affordable Care Act has lessened some of the fear, and according to the March Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll, for the first time the law is seen more favorably by seniors than not."

Report: Obama’s Affordable Care Act Will Save Medicare $200 Billion

Report: Obama’s Affordable Care Act Will Save Medicare $200 Billion: pThe Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s health care reform law, will reportedly save Medicare more than $2 billion by 2016, while saving seniors nearly $60 billion in out-of-pocket costs, according to a new report released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). According to the report, Medicare’s largest savings come from “cuts to [...]/p

Ryan’s Medicaid Cuts Would Have Cost States $555 Billion Over Past Decade

Ryan’s Medicaid Cuts Would Have Cost States $555 Billion Over Past Decade: States would have lost $555 billion over the past decade if House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) proposed Medicaid cuts had been in effect starting in 2001, analysis from The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) shows. Under Ryan’s plan, which would convert Medicaid to a block grant, federal Medicaid funds in most [...]/p

Health Care in an Age of American Decline » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

Health Care in an Age of American Decline » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
"The U.S. has very little to show for its insanely expensive health arrangement.  Its per capita costs are twice those of other advanced OECD nations (11).  However, it ranks pretty low in health outcomes such as infant mortality and and life expectancy (12)."

Cashin' In Regular Jonathan Hoenig Suggests Eliminating Medicare and Medicaid

Cashin' In Regular Jonathan Hoenig Suggests Eliminating Medicare and Medicaid
"Republicans like Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are basically saying the same thing Hoenig did here with their goal of destroying our social safety nets. They're just a little more subtle about it."

Patients Rarely Considered in Press Coverage of Medicare

Patients Rarely Considered in Press Coverage of Medicare
"For the elderly and disabled, catching up on the daily news during the latest Beltway brinkmanship—the deal to extend payroll tax cuts, unemployment benefits and current Medicare doctor fees—could be an exercise in frustration."

The Real Health Care Debate | Common Dreams

The Real Health Care Debate | Common Dreams
"Medical bills already lead to 62 percent of personal bankruptcies, and nearly 80 percent of those declaring personal bankruptcy because of medical costs had insurance. The U.S. spends twice as much per capita on health care as other industrialized nations, $8,160. Private insurance bureaucracy and paperwork consume 31 percent of every health care dollar. Streamlining payment through a single, nonprofit payer would save more than $400 billion per year, enough, the PNHP estimates, to provide comprehensive, high-quality coverage for all Americans."

Report: 15 Million Would Have Received $2 Billion In Rebates If ACA Provisions Were Enacted In 2010

Report: 15 Million Would Have Received $2 Billion In Rebates If ACA Provisions Were Enacted In 2010: About $2 billion in health insurance rebates would have been issued to over 15 million American consumers if the Affordable Care Act’s new medical loss ratio (MLR) rules had been in effect in 2010, a new study from The Commonwealth Fund reveals. The MLR rules, which were enacted in 2011, require a minimum percentage — [...]/p

PERRspectives: Romney-Ryan Plan is the Real 2012 Republican Platform

PERRspectives: Romney-Ryan Plan is the Real 2012 Republican Platform
Here, then, is an overview of the Romney-Ryan Plan, also known as the 2012 Republican Platform.

• Massive Tax Cuts for the Rich
• Ending Medicare as We Know It
• Shredding the Safety Net
• Increased Defense Spending
• What Loopholes Get Closed? That's a Secret!
• Trillions in New Debt

Republicans' Medicare plan finding few takers

Republicans' Medicare plan finding few takers
"The Republican Medicare plan, which does indeed end Medicare as we know it (just a little bit slower than the Paul Ryan budget they adopted last year) isn't finding much support outside the party"