NewsTrust - Medicare - Most Recent Stories: News (Independent)

The PolitiFact guide to Medicare attack lines

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Angie Drobnic Holan, Louis Jacobson - May. 06 (Fact Check) - Barack Obama has slashed Medicare by $500 billion. Mitt Romney and House Republicans want to end Medicare. And a new board is going to ration care so Washington can waste more money. Believe any of that? You shouldn’t. But it’s what the political ads likely will be saying between now and Election Day in November. We have some advice for voters sorting out the claims: Believe nothing you hear in a 30-second TV ad. Here are a few facts about Medicare: • It’s the government-run health insurance for Americans over age 65. • It’s a Canada-style, single-payer system. Liberals love that; conservatives don’t. • It has approximately 50 million people on its rolls. • That 50 million will grow to 80 million as baby boomers retire. Paying for that will be a challenge. Those realities about Medicare have sparked a full-fledged political brawl for 2012.

NewsTrust Rating: 2.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Fall Preview: Obama vs. Romney (and Ryan)

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Eugene Kiely - Apr. 07 (Fact Check) - President Obama says Mitt Romney has embraced a budget that could throw hundreds of thousands of children out of Head Start classrooms, eliminate air traffic control services in some places, and “ultimately end Medicare as we know it.” Romney says that’s just “rhetorical excess”

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Mitt Romney: President Barack Obama is "ending Medicare as we know it."

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Louis Jacobson - Mar. 22 (Fact Check) - Mitt Romney is trying to turn the tables on President Barack Obama by using a favorite Democratic line against him, accusing Obama of "ending Medicare as we know it." That's been a trusty line for the Democrats, with variations used in campaign commercia

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

AARP Plans Secret ‘Salon’ With Social Security Opponents

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Ryan Grim - Mar. 17 (News Report) - An AARP invitation to a secret "Relaxed and Robust Evening of 'Salon Style' Conversation" to be held at a Capitol Hill home on March 27, obtained by The Huffington Post, indicates that the organization is still very much interested in a "grand-bargain" style deal that puts Social Security and Medicare cuts on the table.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Ethan Rome: Republicans to America: Death to Medicare

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Ethan Rome - Mar. 15 (News Analysis) - When the Republicans release their budget next week, they'll likely say they have a "new" Medicare proposal that will "save" Medicare instead of eliminate it. That's not true. The Republicans still plan to end Medicare as we know it. But this time they'l

NewsTrust Rating: 4.5 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Super Tuesday guide: Finding truth in the attacks

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

PolitiFact - By Becky Bowers - Mar. 04 (Fact Check) - As 10 states prepare to vote on Super Tuesday, here’s PolitiFact’s guide to the multimillion-dollar ad blitz. With the field down to four Republican contenders, campaigns and super PACs are attacking their opponents with hot-button allegations about supporting Planned Parenthood, Obamacare and even Nancy Pelosi that are designed to strike fear in the hearts of Republican voters. There's been some piling on. We've seen several examples where two (or more) candidates have made the same attack. The one candidate who hasn't been attacked much: Ron Paul. He's has been busy attacking others — but we didn’t find ads attacking him. ... >>More

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 5 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

10 Big Lies (And A Free-Market "Death Panel") Driving the GOP's Plan to Destroy Medicare

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Richard (RJ) Eskow - Feb. 17 (News Analysis) - Know what's really bipartisan? Not cutting Social Security or Medicare. Max Richtman offered the latest figures in an editorial for the Baltimore Sun: "94 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of independents and 64 percent of Republicans prefer raising taxes on the richest 2 percent of income earners rather than cutting benefits" for those programs. I got yer bipartisanship right here, pal. But since they're defying the public's wishes instead, it's no wonder they need to keep peddling that snake oil.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Medicare Madness: Baby Boomers At Center Of Possible Changes

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Richardo AlonsoZaldivar - Jan. 01 (News Analysis) - Baby boomers take note: Medicare as your parents have known it is headed for big changes no matter who wins the White House...

NewsTrust Rating: 3.2 average - 5 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

The Whoppers of 2011

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson - Dec. 21 (Fact Check) - Despite what you may have heard in 2011: The new health care law won’t cost many jobs (and they’ll be poorly paying jobs at that). Republicans aren’t proposing to “end” Medicare (and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden has signed onto a modified version of the GOP plan). Most of the “millionaires” who would pay higher tax rates under a Democratic proposal aren’t job-creating small-business owners. President Obama’s mother didn’t really fight to get health insurance coverage as she was dying. And there was plenty more spin and deception in 2011. Obama claimed he pays a lower tax rate than a teacher. Michele Bachmann endorsed a claim that HPV vaccine causes mental retardation. Joe Biden claimed rapes quadrupled in Flint, Mich., after police layoffs. And that’s just some of the nonsense we debunked.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.1 average - 10 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Politifact Has Decided That A Totally True Thing Is The "Lie Of The Year," For Some Reason

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Jason Linkins - Dec. 20 (News Analysis) - So, you know, go form an organization called WordTweaker and commit yourself to advocating for the most civil sounding adjectives, if that's what you want to do! But let's recall, Politifact, that your lie of the year is "Republicans voted to end Medicare." And end it, they did vote to do! Now, if the Democrats had said, "Republicans take Medicare out behind the Cannon Office Building and horsewhip it," that's a different story. But you've decided -- incorrectly -- that the most vanilla way of the describing what happened is a deception. And "privatizing" Medicare ends Medicare, as Medicare is a public entitlement program.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.3 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

‘Government-Run’ Nonsense

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson - Nov. 22 (Fact Check) - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce puts a new twist on a tired old falsehood about “government-run health care” in one of its new ads attacking Democratic lawmakers. We noted other dubious claims as well. An ad against Sen. Jon Tester in Montana accuses him of favoring “government-run health care”

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Taxation in the United States

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Wikipedia - Sep. 30 (Special Report) - The United States is a federal republic with autonomous state and local governments. Taxes are imposed in the United States at each of these levels. These include taxes on income, property, sales, imports, payroll, estates and gifts, as well as various fees. Taxes are imposed on net income of individuals and corporations by the federal, most state, and some local governments. Residents are taxed on worldwide income and allowed a credit for foreign taxes. Income subject to tax is determined under tax rules, not accounting principles, and includes almost all income from whatever source. Most business expenses reduce taxable income, though limits apply to a few expenses. Individuals are permitted to reduce taxable income by personal allowances and certain nonbusiness expenses, including home mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable contributions, and medical and certain other expenses incurred above certain percentages of income. State rules for determining taxable income often differ from federal rules. Federal tax rates vary from 15% to 35% of taxable income. State and local tax rates vary by jurisdiction, and many are graduated. State taxes are generally treated as a deductible expense for federal tax computation. Certain alternative taxes may apply. Payroll taxes are imposed by the federal and all state governments. These include Social Security and Medicare taxes imposed on both employers and employees, at a combined rate of 15.3% (13.3% for 2011). Social Security tax applies only to the first $106,800 of wages in 2009 through 2011. Employers also must withhold income taxes on wages. An unemployment tax and certain other levies apply.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

9 Policies Conservatives Were For Long Before They Were Against Them

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Joshua Holland - Sep. 22 (News Analysis) - Journalist Steve Benen noted that while "the record here may be inconvenient for the right ... it's also unambiguous: the mandate Republicans currently hate was their idea." It was championed by the Heritage Foundation ... Nixon embraced it in the 1970s, and George H.W. Bush kept it going in the 1980s. For years, it was touted by the likes of John McCain, Mitt Romney, Scott Brown, Chuck Grassley, Bob Bennett, Tommy Thompson, Lamar Alexander, Lindsey Graham, John Thune, Judd Gregg, and many other ... notable GOP officials.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Fact-checking the CNN/Tea Party Express GOP debate

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Bill Adair - Sep. 13 (Fact Check) - The CNN-Tea Party Express debate in Tampa on Monday night was dominated by talk about Social Security and the need for government to balance its budget. Mitt Romney led the attacks on the Republican frontrunner, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, by saying that Perry didn't support the retirement program. "In writing his book, Gov. Perry pointed out that … by any measure Social Security has been a failure," Romney said. We checked Perry's book and found Romney was right. We rated the claim True.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.7 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

How Clinton Handled His Debt Ceiling Crisis Better Than Obama

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New Republic - By Kara Brandeisky - Aug. 02 (News Analysis) - “If they send me a budget that says simply, ‘You take our cuts or we’ll let the country go into default,’ I will veto it,” Clinton said at the time, calling Republican tactics “economic blackmail.”

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Bernie Sanders Gets Sarcastic, Rips Gang Of Six Plan

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Jul. 21 (News Report) - Sanders congratulated the GOP members of the Gang of Six on their "very significant victory in negotiating a deficit-reduction plan which achieves their long-term goal of dismantling every major social program relevant to working families."

NewsTrust Rating: 3.7 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Should Medicaid Be Federalized? - Miller-McCune

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Miller-McCune - By Melinda Burns - Jul. 17 (Special Report) - On top of their normal caseloads, Sinclair’s four clinics are seeing 400 new patients per month, a record. No one is ever turned away, regardless of his or her ability to pay. Yet this month, state Gov. Jerry Brown signed a budget that cuts funding for Medicaid — a federally funded, state-administered program for the poor that goes by the name Medi-Cal in California — by $2 billion.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Fiscal FactCheck

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson - Jul. 15 (Fact Check) - Washington's spending has recently been higher as a percentage of the nation's economic output than at any time since World War II. But by the same measure, Washington's revenues are the lowest in more than 60 years. So does the U.S. have "a spending problem," as Republicans keep repeating in the current debate over how to reduce the nation's record deficits? Or is the problem that taxes are not high enough? Those questions frame a long-running partisan debate, and as usual we won't offer an opinion one way or the other. But for those seeking their own answers, we can offer some fiscal history and factual context.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average - 7 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

U.S. Debt Default Looms as Talks Stall on Deficit Reduction: “We Are Playing With Fire”

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Juan Gonzalez, Amy Goodman, Jeff Madrick - Jul. 15 (News Analysis) - Discussion on a deficit reduction deal has stalled after five consecutive days of negotiations between Republicans and Democrats. In order to borrow beyond August 2, the United States must raise its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. This week, Standard & Poor's became the second of the major credit rating agencies to place U.S. debt under review, citing an increasing risk of a payment default. Republicans are pushing for massive spending cuts, many of which Obama has agreed to, even as Democrats say they want to raise taxes on corporations and wealthy households. We speak with Jeff Madrick, director of policy research at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at The New School and author of "Age of Greed: The Triumph of Finance and the Decline of America, 1970 to the Present."

NewsTrust Rating: 4.6 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Debt Lock: Will Obama Make Cuts to Social Security and Medicare?

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jul. 12 (News Report) - As President Obama tries to broker a compromise budget deal that would allow Congress to raise the national debt ceiling before an August 2 deadline, he may appease Republicans by cutting funding for Medicare and Social Security. Congressional Democrats say they have ruled out any gutting of Social Security, but there are concerns the cuts could still be achieved through a backhanded approach.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.2 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

WaPo, FactCheck agree: Wasserman-Schultz threw truth to the wolves

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Hot Air - By Ed Morrissey - Jun. 01 (News Analysis) - DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday, but wound up with egg on her face after her demagoguery on Medicare. Wasserman-Schultz told Harry Smith that the Republican plan for Medicare was to throw young people “to the wolves,” a claim that two media organizations reject as throwing truth to the wolves. First, here’s the claim Wasserman-Schultz made on CBS: “[Republicans] would take the people who are younger than 55 years old today and tell them, ‘You know what? You’re on your own. Go and find private health insurance in the health care insurance market. We’re going to throw you to the wolves, and allow insurance companies to deny you coverage and drop you for pre-existing conditions,’ ” Wasserman-Schultz told CBS’ Harry Smith. ” ‘We’re going to give you X amount of dollars and you figure it out.’ “These are people who have paid for their whole life into the system,” she added. FactCheck takes a look at this claim and entirely rejects it:

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

All But 5 Senate Republicans Vote To End Medicare

Wed, 25 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Talking Points Memo - By Brian Beutler - May. 25 (News Report) - The GOP continued its bloody walk into the Medicare buzzsaw Wednesday, when 40 out of 47 Senate Republicans voted in support of the House GOP budget, and its plan to phase out and privatize the popular entitlement program. The test vote failed by a vote of 57-40. But the roll call illustrates that Medicare privatization -- along with deep cuts to Medicaid and other social services -- remains the consensus position of the GOP despite the growing political backlash against them.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

House Republicans Face Backlash At Home Over Medicare Vote

Wed, 18 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Lucia Graves - May. 18 (News Report) - House Republicans returning to their districts on Monday faced harsh criticism for voting to turn Medicare, the federal health care program for retirees, into a voucher system. GOP lawmakers faced this same constituent ire mere weeks ago when they first voted to support House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) budget plan, which would lower tax rates for corporations and the wealthy while replacing Medicare with private-insurance subsidies for those under 55.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.6 average - 7 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

House GOP to Democrats: Stop Telling the Public About Our Unpopular Agenda

Thu, 12 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Steve Benen - May. 12 (News Report) - A wide variety of House Republicans, especially freshmen in competitive districts, heard from their constituents over the recent two-week break, and discovered that voters aren’t impressed with the GOP plan to end Medicare. Yesterday, they gathered to deliver a message to Democrats: Stop making us look bad by telling the public about our agenda.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average - 5 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Under House Budget, “Tax Reform” Places Top Priority on High-Income Tax Cuts and Ignores Deficit Reduction

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - By Chuck Marr, Gillian Brunet - Apr. 29 (Special Report) - The proposal in the House budget plan to devote every dollar of revenue raised by curbing tax expenditures to finance other tax cuts — principally the lowering of the top rate to 25 percent — suggests that the plan’s framers regard additional tax cuts for high-income individuals as a higher national priority than stronger deficit reduction. Their proposal also ignores the fact that incomes have skyrocketed at the top of the income scale even as the real income of the typical American household has fallen over the last decade.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 5 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer