Archive for July, 2009
Happy Birthday Medicare
Thursday, July 30th, 200944 years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation creating Medicare. Given the current debate about system-wide health care reform and the role Medicare will play, now is the perfect time to reflect on the programs’ success in keeping millions of seniors and the disabled healthy. Our policy analysts have prepared The Future of Medicare: [...]
When Fiction Replaces Facts in the Health care/Medicare Debate
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009One caller’s question yesterday in the AARP/Obama Town Hall meeting really jumped out at us…it came from Mary in North Carolina: “I have heard lots of rumors going around about this new plan, and I hope that the people that are going to vote on this is going to read every single page there. I [...]
Social Security and the Jacksons
Monday, July 27th, 2009Chances are Katherine Jackson never imagined Social Security would be her only source of income. But truth be told…that’s probably the case for countless other Americans, rich and poor, who face retirement in a much different fiscal situation then they had dreamed. That’s why these short references buried in all the recent coverage of Michael Jackson’s [...]
“MedPac on Steroids” or Permanent Entitlement Commission?
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009For many older Americans, the give and take necessary to pass meaningful and successful health care reform makes sense. That’s why we here at the National Committee have worked hard to mobilize their support for health care reform proposals that would improve efficiency and care for millions of Medicare beneficiaries while also providing savings for [...]
Medicare Reforms play Critical Role in Congressional Health Care Proposal
Thursday, July 16th, 2009“This Health care reform proposal is a pivotal step in Medicare reform. We now have a House bill which includes some important changes in Medicare to help control runaway health care costs for millions of seniors. Closing the Part D doughnut hole, improving low-income coverage and eliminating wasteful subsidies to private Medicare Advantage insurers are all [...]
Head of GOP Health Care Group Says We’d Be Better Off Without Medicare…
Friday, July 10th, 2009…and Medicaid, and SCHIP and VA health benefits. How about health insurance coverage for Congress, we wonder? As chairman of the House Republicans’ Health Care Solutions Group, Rep. Roy Blunt’s views on President Obama’s health care reform proposals are well documented and up to now have been the classic protect the market rather than improve [...]
CBO Puts a Number on Medicare Savings in House Bill
Thursday, July 9th, 2009The Congressional Budget Office projects the House’s health care reform draft would provide $535 billion in gross savings to Medicare over ten years. However, factoring in spending provisions brings the net savings down to about $160 billion. Here’s how the Way and Means Committee describes the savings and spending side of their equation: “The draft [...]
Medicare Earns Higher Marks than Private Plans
Monday, July 6th, 2009Thanks to National Journal’s Mark Blumenthal for his wonderful analysis of recent polls on Americans views of health care reform and a public plan option. Rather than focusing on just the poll of the week, the National Journal’s “Mystery Pollster” reviews findings in a wide range of recent polling and provides a depth of analysis sorely [...]
Why Seniors Should Watch Senator-elect Al Franken
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009We say watch Al Franken, not because he’s a former comedian turned Senator (and Washington loves ‘celebrities’) or because his election fight seemed never-ending or even because he’ll play the critical role as the 60th Democrat in the Senate. American seniors should keep their eyes on Al Franken because he “gets it”. He understands the importance of [...]