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7 Reasons Why Romney-Ryan's Desperate Attempts to Spin Medicare Won't Work by Joshua Holland, alternet.org | August 16, 2012
In May, the Romney team promised a laser-like focus on the economy . But that was then and this is now. This week, Romney changed the conversation when he caved to his right flank and chose Paul Ryan as his running mate, a man known for a budget proposal that's so toxic voters in focus groups, “simply refused to believe any politician would do such a thing.” Now, the Romney team is trying to avoid a backlash against the Ryan plan's most loathesome feature (replacing traditional Medicare coverage with a private insurance voucher that would pay for a dwindling share of seniors' healthcare bills over time) by following the old adage that if you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, then just baffle them with your bullshit. But there are a number of good reasons why this strategy is unlikely to succeed. read more »The Republican Ticket's Big Medicare Myth by Ezra Klein, The Washington Post | August 14, 2012
I’ve got a modest proposal: You’re not allowed to demand a “serious conversation” over Medicare unless you can answer these three questions: 1) Mitt Romney says that “unlike the current president who has cut Medicare funding by $700 billion. We will preserve and protect Medicare.” What happens to those cuts in the Ryan budget? 2) What is the growth rate of Medicare under the Ryan budget? 3) What is the growth rate of Medicare under the Obama budget? The answers to these questions are, in order, “it keeps them,” “GDP+0.5%,” and “GDP+0.5%.” Let’s be very clear on what that means: Ryan’s budget — which Romney has endorsed — keeps Obama’s cuts to Medicare, and both Ryan and Obama envision the same long-term spending path for Medicare. The difference between the two campaigns is not in how much they cut Medicare, but in how they cut Medicare. read more »The Coming Obama Landslide by Jamelle Bouie, prospect.org | August 14, 2012
In terms of demographics, Mitt Romney has one path to victory: overwhelming support from white voters. At the least, he’ll have to outperform every Republican since Ronald Reagan, and win 60 percent of their votes. And this is if minority turnout is at its 2008 levels. If it increases, he needs even more whites to make up the difference. Seniors play a key part in this coalition. John McCain won 51 percent of seniors, beating Obama by four percentage points. At the moment, Obama’s support among this group is in the low 40s. If the former Massachusetts governor can outperform McCain and crush Obama among older Americans, he can eke out a narrow win. But if Obama can hold his own — and move closer to his 2008 total — he’ll have secured victory. Enter Paul Ryan. read more »The GOP Still Wants to Gut Medicaid by Terrance Heath, OurFuture.org | August 14, 2012
Sometimes there no joy in being right. Sometimes it's just no fun to say "I told ya so." This is one of those times. Depending on whom you ask, Mitt Romney choice of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as a running mate is either inspired or insane; bold or boneheaded; a opportunity for meaningful debate or a triumph of theory. But without a doubt, Romney's pick or Ryan as his running mate has revived the Ryan's seminal budget document, The Path to Prosperity, which would end Medicare as we know it back in the spotlight. (It's OK, really. There would still be a program called "Medicare," but the resemblance would end there.) This is already turning in to bad news for the campaign, as Romney can't win without Florida, and it seems neither Mitt Romney nor Paul Ryan can show their faces down there right now. But a few people have noticed something I pointed out at length about a year ago. He may want to give Medicare a witness-protection-style makeover, but Paul Ryan still wants to gut Medicaid. Apparently, so does Mitt Romney. read more »The $700 Billion Smoke Screen by Jared Bernstein, jaredbernsteinblog.com | August 14, 2012
In posts about the Ryan pick, I’ve argued that if we in the commentariat and the media get this right, the American electorate could have a salutary debate on the role of government. But, I stressed, that’s a big “if.” We particularly need an eagle-eyed media to cut through the inaccurate and misleading stances that show up with increasing frequency around this time. A classic, for example, is the one I talked about with Rachel Maddow last night: the claim that President Obama is “destroying Medicare” by reducing its growth rate to the tune of $700 billion in the Affordable Care Act. Rep Ryan has precisely the same cut in his budget. The difference is what they do with the savings. read more »The Difference Between Obama And Ryan’s Medicare Cuts by Sahil Kapur, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com | August 14, 2012
Lost in the back and forth between the Obama and Romney campaigns over who’s the real Medicare cutter is a critical difference between visions: President Obama’s plan is to make the program solvent by reducing payments to health care providers, while Rep. Paul Ryan achieves his savings by transforming Medicare into a voucher-like system. The Medicare cuts, passed in the Affordable Care Act, come in the form of reimbursement reductions to hospitals, Medicaid prescription drugs and private insurance plans under Medicare Advantage. The Congressional Budget Office projects that they’ll extend the solvency of Medicare by eight years. Ryan’s plan would end Medicare as an insurance program that directly pays medical bills for the elderly, and replace it with a fixed subsidy which seniors may use to buy competing private and public insurance policies on an exchange. The CBO projects that Ryan’s plan would raise seniors’ out-of-pocket expenses by $6,500 per year. read more »Romney Spokesperson Admits It: Romney Plans To Privatize Medicare [VIDEO] by Bill Scher, OurFuture.org | August 13, 2012
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy John Sununu, top Romney campaign spokesperson, went on MSNBC's Hardball tonight with a message that the Romney budget and the Romney Medicare plan is not the same as his vice-presidential choice Rep. Paul Ryan. When asked "are you still with Ryan" Sununu responded, "No, I'm still with Romney ... Forget Ryan's plan." Then he described Romney's Medicare plan ... which is the same thing as the Ryan Medicare plan: privatize it. SUNUNU: Medicare is going to be covered by guaranteeing to everybody 55 and over that they can have Medicare exactly as it is today. No change. ... CHRIS MATTHEWS: But the future of Medicare under the Ryan and Romney plan is to replace a fee-for-service program ... with a voucher plan, when you got to go out and buy insurance in the private market. That's what they want to do. Both of them. SUNUNU: But that happens for people under 55. MATTHEWS: But why is that a good deal? [CROSSTALK] SUNUNU: Why is it a good deal? Because I'd rather have a private insurance policy than a government insurance policy any day. To review: Romney's campaign spokesperson says the Romney plan is to privatize Medicare for all Americans currently under 55 years of age. Now we know. read more »Romney's Health Care Dilemma Returns by Paul Waldman, prospect.org | August 10, 2012
Mitt Romney has been so busy securing his Republican base that he hasn't had time to court independent voters, the ones who will actually decide this election. But now, probably by accident, he has an opportunity to show them that he's something other than a slave to his party's right wing. Will he take it? When Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul committed the apparently unpardonable sin of praising the health care law Mitt Romney passed as governor of Massachusetts, was she making a horrible mistake that made everyone in Romney headquarters gasp in horror, or was she just reflecting what her candidate actually believes? The answer to that question would tell us where Romney is going to go from here on health care, and whether he may at long last try to find some issue on which he can convince voters he's something more than a vessel for whatever his party's right wing wants to do to the country. read more »The Affordable Care Act: The Death Argument by Joe Firestone, OurFuture.org | August 10, 2012
This is a quick one. On the Ed Schultz show on August 9th, Jonathan Alter and Michael Kinsley joined Ed to give their views on the Joe Soptic Ad from Priorities USA Action and the Republican reaction to it. read more »Medicare For Everyone by Tom Elben, kentucky.com | August 9, 2012
Medicare turned 47 years old last Monday. Bill Mahan celebrated by setting up a booth on Main Street to try to convince passersby that America's health insurance crisis could be eased considerably if everyone had Medicare. The Lexington retiree collected about 125 signatures for his petition. It asks members of Congress to support proposed legislation that would strengthen Medicare, which now covers more than 47 million seniors and disabled people, and make it the vehicle for providing basic universal health insurance coverage But Mahan spent much of his seven hours on Main Street listening to people tell him their horror stories: lack of insurance, inadequate coverage, baffling paperwork, treatment they can't afford to get and medical bills they can't afford to pay. What Mahan mostly tells them is that these problems are likely to continue until the United States has a single-payer health insurance system. 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 »
