NewsTrust - Medicare - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Mainstream)

Poor economy worsens Social Security's finances

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Seattle Times - By Stephen Ohlemacher, Ricardo Alonso Zaldivar - Apr. 24 (Opinion) - High energy prices and an economy that has been slow to rebound are worsening Social Security's finances, shortening the life of the trust funds that support program by three years, the government said Monday.

NewsTrust Rating: 1.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Op-Ed Columnist: Things to Tax

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Paul Krugman, New York Times - Nov. 28 (Opinion) - How about making increased revenue part of the remedy? And not just a return to Clinton-era tax rates.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Why Obama won’t face a primary challenge

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Harold Meyerson - Aug. 04 (Opinion) - President Obama is faring poorly these days, but he can console himself with the fact that he’ll probably be spared the fate of previous presidents who fell on hard times: a primary challenge. Those groups within the Democratic Party that might otherwise be shopping around for a more forthrightly progressive alternative are deterred by two factors: the likelihood that any challenge will end up helping a radicalized Republican Party and the fact that Obama is black.

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

How the GOP lost on the debt deal

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Daniel Markovits - Aug. 03 (Opinion) - The deal reached by Congress eliminates the leverage that would have been created by another imminent default until after the next election, where it will be exercised by new and possibly differently constituted players.

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

Obamanomics, leaving on a jet plane

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Reuters - By James Pethokoukis - Jun. 29 (Opinion) - The president perpetuated this myth: “You can’t reduce the deficit to the levels that it needs to be reduced without having some revenue in the mix. “ Yet Rep. Paul Ryan’ s Path to Prosperity does just that, even while assuming — to satisfy the Congressional Budget Office — the economy grows at a snail-like 2 percent pace year after year for decades. If we need more money, grow the economy faster.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.5 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

It's the Health Care Costs, Stupid

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Jun. 12 (Opinion) - I’ve already written about Joe Lieberman’s very bad, no good idea of raising the Medicare eligibility age. Austin Frakt and Aaron Carroll show that it’s even worse than I thought: Americans near 65 who don’t have good health insurance delay needed treatment, causing a bulge in Medicare costs when they hit the magic age, and the same phenomenon would get even worse, so this might not even save money. The larger point is that we don’t have a Medicare problem, we have a health care cost problem. And Medicare actually does a better job of controlling costs than private insurers — not remotely good enough, but better.

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

Where Wisdom Lives

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By David Brooks - Jun. 07 (Opinion) - The Medicare debate reveals the philosophical chasm between Republicans and Democrats. How each party lands will define their respective identities for decades.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.5 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Vouchercare Is Not Medicare

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Jun. 06 (Opinion) - Republicans are indeed seeking to dismantle Medicare as we know it, replacing it with a much worse program.

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

Newt Gingrich’s meltdown on the launch pad

Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Eugene Robinson - May. 20 (Opinion) - “I want to make sure every House Republican is protected from some kind of dishonest Democratic ad. So let me say on the record, any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood, because I have publicly said those words were inaccurate and unfortunate.”

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Newt Gingrich digs himself a deep hole

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

Washington Post - By Dan Blaz - May. 18 (Opinion) - It was Hillary Clinton, back in 2007, who said there are no do-overs in life. That is especially true for politicians. If there were, Newt Gingrich would be grasping for the opportunity. Gingrich’s presidential hopes have always been problematic, given his controversial history. The rocky opening to his campaign has made those odds far longer. If he learned from past mistakes, as he claimed shortly before he declared his candidacy, it was not evident in the days that followed his announcement. What will he learn from this week?

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

Seniors, Guns and Money

Fri, 13 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - May. 13 (Opinion) - This has to be one of the funniest political stories of recent weeks: On Tuesday, 42 freshmen Republican members of Congress sent a letter urging President Obama to stop Democrats from engaging in “Mediscare” tactics — that is, to stop saying that the Republican budget plan released early last month, which would end Medicare as we know it, is a plan to end Medicare as we know it.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Let’s Take a Hike

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Apr. 25 (Opinion) - When I listen to current discussions of the federal budget, the message I hear sounds like this: We’re in crisis! We must take drastic action immediately! And we must keep taxes low, if not actually cut them further!

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Raise America’s Taxes

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Nicholas D. Kristof - Apr. 14 (Opinion) - President Obama in his speech on Wednesday confronted a topic that is harder to address seriously in public than sex or flatulence: America needs higher taxes.

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

What Paul Ryan’s budget actually does

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Ezra Klein - Apr. 05 (Opinion) - Paul Ryan’s plan for Medicare and Paul Ryan’s plan for Medicaid rely on the same bait-and-switch: They use a reform to disguise a cut.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.5 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Rep. Paul Ryan's Medicaid gamble

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Politico - By Jonathan Allen - Apr. 05 (Opinion) - Rep. Paul Ryan says his plan to slash entitlement programs will hand Democrats a “political weapon.” The truth is that the Republicans’ fiscal 2012 budget, due for release tomorrow, is a calculated political gamble that will define the fiscal battleground for the next two years.

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

Dumbing Deficits Down

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Mar. 11 (Opinion) - Like anyone who writes regularly about what passes for economic and fiscal debate in American politics, I’ve developed a strong tolerance for nonsense. After all, if I got upset every time powerful people were illogical and/or dishonest, I’d spend every

NewsTrust Rating: 4.3 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

The Fiscal Illusion and How to Face It

Sun, 06 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Tyler Cowen - Mar. 06 (Opinion) - Fiscal policy debates often focus on technocratic questions about how much money the government should spend and when, yet the actual course of events depends not on the experts but on politics. The more that our government runs up unfunded obligations and debt, the more we are setting a trap for ourselves.

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

Our view: Fix Social Security sooner, not later

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

USA Today - Feb. 22 (Editorial) - Many Americans get angry at the suggestion that Social Security should be on the table for this year's budget debate. That's not surprising. They've repeatedly been told that while the program might have long-term problems, it's absolutely fine now and has nothing to do with the deficit. President Obama's budget director, Jacob Lew, said as much last week during his briefing on the president's budget. Obama wants to find ways to "work together to find a solution to the long-term issues in Social Security," Lew told reporters, but the program "does not contribute to the deficit in the short term." That would be nice if it were true. It's not. Social Security is a cash-in/cash-out program. It went into the red last year, when payroll tax revenue came up about $37 billion short of the benefits paid to retirees. Initially, that shortfall seemed a temporary consequence of the recession. But new projections from the Congressional Budget Office show that factors such as the payroll tax cut Obama and congressional Republicans agreed to last year mean that Social Security will instead come up short every year from now on — at least $45 billion this year, and a staggering half a trillion dollars over the next decade.

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

Durbin, Graham on Social Security and the Deficit

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Meet the Press - By David Gregory, Sen. Richard Durbin, Sen. Lindsey Graham - Feb. 20 (Interview) - Sen. Durbin: Social Security does not add one penny to the deficit. Social Security untouched will make every promised payment for more than 25 years. ... The Social Security program, as it's currently put together, does not have any impact on the deficit.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.2 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

File under 'can't win'

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Ezra Klein - Jan. 04 (Opinion) - The Democrats promised that they'd be more responsible. They'd pay for their big projects. When health-care reform came around, they made good. They cut $500 billion from Medicare, handing conservatives a potent attack line. They introduced a tax on high-value health insurance plans, infuriating their union supporters. They didn't just pay for the bill: They overpaid for the bill, packing it with enough spending cuts and revenue increases to cut the deficit by more than $100 billion in the first 10 years, and then used the momentum of the bill to get liberals to sign off on cost controls, like an independent board designed to control Medicare's costs, that they'd have never countenanced in normal times.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.6 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Bring on the health-care fight

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Eugene Robinson - Jan. 04 (Opinion) - If the incoming Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is serious about trying to repeal health-care reform, there's only one appropriate Democratic response: "Make my day."

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Health Reform Misinformation Persists; Medicare Solvency Now Stronger

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

NewsHour - By Judy Woodruff, Kathleen Sebelius - Aug. 02 (Interview) - With more measures from the health care reform law set to take effect, more states are filing legal challenges as well. Judy Woodruff talks to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for more on the latest health care reform developments and what consumers may see next. JUDY WOODRUFF: We take a closer look now at these developments and the battle over the law with the secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius. Madam Secretary, thank you for being with us. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary KATHLEEN SEBELIUS,: Good to be with you, Judy. JUDY WOODRUFF: So, four months in after the law passed, and still such vehement opposition out there. Half the states are trying to repeal this in one form or another. How do you explain this? KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well, I think, first of all, this has been a long and very partisan debate, full of lots of misinformation. So, there are a lot of people who still don't know what's in the law, don't know what exactly it means to them and their families. And what we're trying to do is actually get information, get some tools, as the president said, whether it's the new Web site, healthcare.gov, which is really pretty dazzling -- it gives people information that they have never had before in one place -- or, you know, mailing information to seniors. Once people know what the law means to them and their families, that their adult child stays on their plan, or that no longer will a child with a preexisting condition be able to be kicked out of an insurance plan by insurers, they become much more enthusiastic about what actually the Affordable Care Act does. JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, I want to ask you about that, because the president did say that in the run-up to the passage of this legislation. He said, once people knows what's in here, they are going to like it. But the polls still show, yes, there is some more support, but over 50 percent of seniors still say they are disappointed in this law. KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well, when you think about what happened to seniors during the course of this debate, it borders on outrageous. Senior, I would say, were really targeted with a whole series of misinformed statements that were designed to scare them about the law, to get them to actually call on their members of Congress and Senate to stop it, starting with everything from death panels, which still most seniors think are part of the Affordable Care Act. JUDY WOODRUFF: Is that right? Most seniors still think that? KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Absolutely. The recent polling says that seniors think this actually was passed into law. Seniors think that there is a change in their guaranteed benefits under Medicare. Nothing could be further from the truth. The guaranteed benefits are not only stronger than ever. We're going after fraud and abuse in a way that has never been focused on. And the Medicare solvency is much stronger than it was before the law was passed. JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, I want to ask you about that in a minute. But today's ruling by a Virginia judge, saying that this -- this challenge to the constitutionality of the law can go forward, what about the argument that is being made that it's not constitutional to tell people they must buy health insurance? KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well, I think, when you think about it, Judy, first of all, it's not a surprise that the ruling came today. I mean, what it basically does is, now there can be a debate on the merits of the case. So, it's really a threshold argument: Did the attorney general have standing to go ahead? JUDY WOODRUFF: What do you mean it's not a surprise it came today? KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well, I think that, being portrayed as somehow a major ruling, all the judge said is, come to court and then talk about the merits of the case. We're convinced that there are -- strong constitutional basis for this. And the interstate commerce, which is the purview of the federal government, governing business that travels back and forth across states, when you think about health care, there is a lot of interstate commerce. A lot of the health markets are regional. And people pay -- taxpayers pay for every dollar of uncompensated care. For everyone who comes through an emergency room door, that goes on to the backs of taxpayers and lots of people who pay insurance policies and pay more for those who are uncompensated. JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, meanwhile, you have Republicans who are saying, whatever happens in the courts, they're going to continue to try to chip away at this legislatively. They're going to try to deny funding for big chunks of this. Do you ever worry that you are out there trying to defend something that's going to be hollowed out? KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well, I hope we are able to engage in a straightforward manner this fall in that debate. I think it's fine for Republicans to go to their constituents and tell parents who have a child under the age of 26, your son or daughter, we want to take back their right to enroll in your insurance policies. We want to make sure that insurance companies, Mr. Republican Congressman or Congresswoman, are going to be able to kick your sick child out of a plan. We want to make sure that seniors will not see their prescription drug doughnut hole closed over time. That's a debate I welcome and I hope that we are able to talk about. Repealing this bill means taking benefits away from lots of Americans who are really relying on this change, once and for all, to get some tools into their own hands. JUDY WOODRUFF: On the savings that you have been talking about today that will be realized for Medicare, Republicans like Charles Grassley -- you have got -- and the insurance industry now saying the cuts that will come to private Medicare plans will result in huge increases in premiums for seniors, which will then force them to give up their Medicare. KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well, I don't think that's accurate, first of all. The data shows that about a fourth of Medicare beneficiaries choose Medicare Advantage plans. We have more companies offering Medicare Advantage right now than we have ever had before. We anticipate... JUDY WOODRUFF: These are the private... KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: These are the private choices. So, you can either choose traditional Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan. But we have overpaid by about 14 percent. And everybody else in Medicare pays for that overpay -- pays more for their Medicare policies, no additional health benefits to the people who choose. And all we're saying is, gradually, over time, that overpayment should stop. We think there's going to be plenty of choices. JUDY WOODRUFF: And what is going to happen to those seniors who are in these plans? KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: They will absolutely have the choice of those plans. Those plans will stay in effect. They will stay in the market. In fact, the Centers for Medicare Services has issued a notice to companies, saying there will not be a cut next year. There will be a flat line for Medicare Advantage plans, so come in with your package of proposals. Come in with your bid. But we think there are going to be plenty of options for seniors who want to continue in a Medicare Advantage plan. JUDY WOODRUFF: Let me ask you about another headache out there, and that is Medicaid funding for individuals, the poor. A number of states, governors are coming to you, to the Obama administration, saying, wait a minute, this law means that we don't have the flexibility to deal with these rising Medicaid costs. Our budgets are being stretched and strapped. What are you saying to the states that are struggling with this right now? KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well, first of all, as you know, I was one of them, until very recently, governor of a state, watching the Medicaid budget. And this is a federal-state partnership, no question about it. I mean, the first thing we need to do is get Congress to act on the extension of the assistance for Medicaid programs across the country. That's been pending now for months and months and months, and tonight again came a near vote in the Senate. It's now been pushed off to Wednesday. But that's a huge step forward for states, to pass the FMAP, the federal matching plan. Secondly, in 2014, when the Affordable Care Act has an expanded Medicaid opportunity for lots of adults who don't qualify, it's paid for 100 percent by federal funds for the first four years and then gradually recedes to a 90 percent federal funding. So, this is a huge number of people who currently are coming through the doors of emergency rooms in states. States are picking up costs for all kinds of health-related costs. And the federal government is saying, we think we should cover everyone, and we think we are going to pay for it, states, and help you in this partnership. JUDY WOODRUFF: So many, many questions out there. And we thank you for dealing with some of them with us. Secretary Sebelius, thanks so much. KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Sure.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.6 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Seven Things Republicans Were For Before They Were Against Them

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Politics Daily - Jul. 11 (Opinion) - Filed under: Republicans, John McCain, Economy, Budget, Deficit, Campaign Finance, Mitch McConnell, Climate Change, ImmigrationFrom cap-and-trade to deficit spending to immigration, Republicans have changed their minds about a host of issues in the last 18 months. Coincidence? Not likely.?Permalink?|?Email this?|?Linking?Blogs?|?Comments

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Economic Scene - Deficit Builds as Americans Pay Less and Get More

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - Mar. 17 (Opinion) -

NewsTrust Rating: 2.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Health Reform Myths

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - Mar. 12 (Opinion) - While health reform has to run a gantlet of misinformation and outright lies, the reality is that it may not be perfect, but it is a reasonable, responsible plan.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer