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Still Seething by Leslie Boyd, lettersfromtheleft.com | September 20, 2012
The more I think about it, the madder I get. There’s my friend, Lynn, who worked in human services all her life for low pay. She’s on Medicare now and she gets Social Security. She’s not on the dole and she’s not looking for a handout. Then there’s my friend, Mike, who was injured in service to his country, and the woman he would love to marry. She has diabetes and would lose her health care if she married him. These are some of the people Mitt Romney isn’t interested in. All three of these people are better Americans than Mitt will ever be. Then there’s my son, Mike. He worked hard and paid taxes until he got sick. My son was not a bum. He was not lazy. He was terminally ill and still couldn’t get what he needed, even though he had paid into the system for 15 years. read more »Still Seething by Leslie Boyd, | September 20, 2012
The more I think about it, the madder I get. There’s my friend, Lynn, who worked in human services all her life for low pay. She’s on Medicare now and she gets Social Security. She’s not on the dole and she’s not looking for a handout. Then there’s my friend, Mike, who was injured in service to his country, and the woman he would love to marry. She has diabetes and would lose her health care if she married him. These are some of the people Mitt Romney isn’t interested in. All three of these people are better Americans than Mitt will ever be. Then there’s my son, Mike. He worked hard and paid taxes until he got sick. He didn’t have health coverage because a birth defect is a pre-existing condition, and because of that, he couldn’t get the screening tests he needed. read more »What Romney Left Behind by Paul Waldman, prospect.org | September 18, 2012
One of the common misconceptions about the presidential candidate version of Mitt Romney is that he disavowed his greatest achievement in public office, health care reform, in an attempt to appeal to his party's base. The truth is that he never actually disavowed it or said it was a failure or a mistake. What he did was tell primary voters that Romneycare was really nothing at all like Obamacare, and anyway Romneycare shouldn't be tried in any other state. His comments were utterly unconvincing, but since they were always accompanied by a thunderous denunciation of Obamacare, Republican voters were assuaged enough to let it slide. Which means that had he wanted to, Romney probably could have entered the general election making a positive case on health care beyond "Repeal Obamacare!" Instead, his entire case for competence is that he got really rich in private equity, and his entire case for compassion is that his wife seems nice. read more »Thank You, Paul Ryan by Robert Kuttner, Huffington Post | September 17, 2012
Two years ago, the Democrats handed the Republicans their two crown jewels -- Social Security and Medicare. By targeting Medicare for budget "savings" that could be used to finance what the Republicans called Obamacare, the White House gave the GOP ammunition to contend that the Democrats were taking benefits away from seniors. Now, however, Republicans have given Social Security and Medicare back to the Democrats (where they belong.) Polls show that Medicare is no longer a winner for the Republicans, and the Democrats have embraced the term, "Obamacare" as positive label. The reason, of course, is Paul Ryan. read more »Progressive Breakfast by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | September 14, 2012
On the menu this morning MORNING MESSAGE: So Who Is It That Cares About The Deficit Anyway? Fed's Economic Booster Shot The Middle-Class Struggle For Survival Chicago Teacher Strike Update Breakfast Sides read more »Progressive Breakfast by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | September 12, 2012
MORNING MESSAGE: When It Comes to the DoJ and Wall Street, Don't Call It "Justice" read more »No There There by James Kwak, baselinescenario.com | September 11, 2012
On the one hand, over in Romney headquarters, they can take heart from the fact that the economy continues to sputter, as evidenced by the latest jobs report. On the other hand, as the election draws near, people will only ask more questions about what President Romney would actually do. For months now, the campaign has whispered one thing to the base (e.g., “severely conservative”) while being purposefully vague to everyone else, hoping that independents will assume he is still the moderate who introduced universal health care to Massachusetts. Now that strategy is breaking down. Exhibit A is Sunday’s comical back-and-forth-and-forth-and-back on the Affordable Care Act. But the more important Exhibit B is the Romney “tax plan.” read more »Progressive Breakfast by Terrance Heath, OurFuture.org | September 11, 2012
On the menu this morning: MORNING MESSAGE: Deficit Rorschach Test: The Presidents, the Editors, and the Truth More Romney Tax Problems Dithering on Obamacare Chicago Teachers Strike GOP Polling Panic Breakfast Sides read more »Progressive Breakfast by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | September 7, 2012
On the menu this morning MORNING MESSAGE: Obama's Claim For A New Mandate The Message And The Movement Unemployment Report Signals Reclaim The Solar Power Investment Mandate read more »Bill Clinton: Wonk-In-Chief by Ezra Klein, The Washington Post | September 6, 2012
“People ask me all the time how we delivered four surplus budgets,” former President Bill Clinton said on Wednesday night. “What new ideas did we bring? I always give a one-word answer: arithmetic.” That’s also the one-word answer to what Clinton brought to his convention speech. To a degree unusual in political rhetoric, this was a 48-minute speech about arithmetic. About math. About budgets. In that way, Clinton’s speech fit neatly into the emergent Democratic strategy to be, in this election, the party of policy. To be sure, they don’t have much of a choice. The difference between the Democratic and Republican tickets right now is the Democrats are stuck with thousands of pages of policy while the Republicans have made a strategic decision to avoid having much policy at all. read more »
The Latest
Group: Public Plan Could Save Money Faster, Reuters | June 24, 2009
that includes a Medicare-like government option could save $1.8 trillion more than if only private plans are offered, a prominent private U.S. health policy group said. more »
Obama Signs Tobacco Bill Into Law, BBC News | June 23, 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama has signed into law America's strongest anti-smoking measure ever, saying it will save lives. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration now has new powers to regulate the content and marketing of tobacco products. Hailed as a milestone in the history of tobacco regulation, the bill was passed by Congress earlier this month. more »
Study: Americans Struggling To Pay For Health Care, Reuters | June 22, 2009
Americans are struggling to pay for health care in the ongoing economic recession, with a quarter saying they have had trouble in the past 12 months, according to a survey released. more »
Report: Health Care Costs to Rise 9% in 2010, USA Today | June 18, 2009
mployers who offer health insurance coverage could see a 9% cost increase next year, and their workers may face an even bigger hit, according to a report from consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Costs will rise in part because workers worried about losing their jobs are using their health care more while they still have it, the firm said in the report released to the Associated Press. more »
Budget Chief Sees "Hard Slog" on Health Reform, USA Today | June 17, 2009
Overhauling the nation's health care system won't easily lead to the long-term budget savings that President Obama hopes to achieve, the director of the Congressional Budget Office says. Obama has said that "health care reform is entitlement reform," but he plans to use savings from Medicare and Medicaid over 10 years to extend health insurance coverage to millions of people. more »
Former Senators to Present Health Reform Compromise, Associated Press | June 17, 2009
Trying to prevent a repeat of the 1990s standoff over health care, four former Senate leaders are preparing a plan that combines ideas from both political parties to guarantee coverage for all. more »
Sebelius: Single-Payer Health Care Not In Plans, npr.org | June 16, 2009
As lawmakers on Capitol Hill hammer out legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says that a single-payer option is not on the table. "This is not a trick. This is not single-payer," Sebelius told Steve Inskeep. more »
Doctors and hospitals-Vital players in health care reform, newyorker.com | June 16, 2009
This article in the June New Yorker magazine, brought to my attention by Bob Laszewski's blog at http://healthpolicyandmarket.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-not-prices-stupid...., describes and analyzes various health care markets in the U.S. with the surprising conclusion that holding Doctors and Hospitals accountable for cost could be a key to reform
Pelosi: "No Health Care Reform Without Public Plan", Huffington Post | June 12, 2009
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the Huffington Post Thursday that a health care overhaul that did not include a public option wouldn't make it through the House because it "wouldn't have the votes." At a press conference earlier in the morning, Pelosi had been asked if including a public plan that would compete with private insurance was "essential" to health care reform.
Out-Of-Pocket Health Costs up 34% in 3 Years, Marketwatch | June 3, 2009
Americans with job-based health insurance saw their protection from higher out-of-pocket costs erode between 2004 and 2007, especially those who were sick and of modest means, according to a new study. The majority of people with health insurance, about 160 million Americans, receive it through their jobs. more »
