GOP Senators Face Key Test on Health Care Affordability
Last week, the House of Representatives took a bold step towards averting huge increases in Americans’ health care premiums, passing a bill that would extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits for three years. The measure succeeded thanks to YES votes from all House Democrats and 17 House Republicans, who openly defied GOP Speaker Mike Johnson.
Trump & DOGE Wreaked Havoc at SSA, New Reporting Confirms
As the year ends, new reporting confirms that customer service at the Social Security Administration (SSA) has tanked since Trump took office last January – despite the administration's claims to the contrary. A new investigative report by the Washington Post -- based on a thorough analysis of agency data and interviews with SSA employees -- reveals that “long-strained customer services have become worse by many key measures.”
Thanks, Cato, But Let’s Not “Re-Imagine” Social Security (It’s Been Working for 90 Years)
What do you get when a libertarian think tank publishes a book proposing to radically change Social Security in collaboration mostly with other right-leaning organizations? You get something like “Re-imagining Social Security,” authored by the CATO Institute’s Ivane Nachkebia and Romina Boccia (who more than once has called the program a ‘legal Ponzi scheme’). Not surprisingly, to these authors, “re-imagining” the program that some 70 million Americans depend on for financial security essentially means altering the program beyond recognition and cutting benefits for future retirees. To which we say: better not to let their imaginations run away with our earned benefits. The libertarian Cato Institute (which never met a federal program it liked) appears to be on a crusade to undermine the existing Social Security program. Just this week, Boccia published a post in Cato’s ‘Debt Dispatch’ blog, claiming that Social Security “operates on the Robin Hood principle in reverse.” This is, pardon the expression, quite rich coming from a think tank whose funders include the Koch network and mega-corporations like Google, Facebook, Philip Morris, the American Petroleum Institute and Chevron.
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News from the Frontlines of the Fight Against Alzheimer’s
In this week’s episode of our You Earned This podcast, Dr. Heather Snyder of the Alzheimer’s Association tells us about some common misconceptions about Alzheimer’s disease while also sharing exciting developments in research, treatment, and prevention. These advances should be welcome news to America’s Seniors, demonstrating important steps forward in the ongoing fight against Alzheimer’s.
Open Enrollment Season Begins at a Fraught Time for Medicare
This year's Medicare open enrollment season, which began on October 15, comes at a concerning time for the program.
Trump’s ‘Reaper’ is Coming for Your Disability Benefits
Trump & OMB Director Russell Vought (aka "The Reaper") The Trump administration is escalating its attacks on Social
Let the Drug Pricing Games Begin!
nder pressure from the White House, Big Pharma has been touting “discounts” via Direct to Consumer (DTC) websites. Meanwhile, the Trump administration promises to unveil its own prescription website, immodestly named TrumpRx, in 2026. Prescription drug prices obviously are still too high, though President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 was beginning to make headway in bringing them down. Unlike Biden’s IRA, these latest gestures by Big Pharma and the Trump Administration should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Trump Shutdown Could Snag Social Security, Medicare
In normal times, a government shutdown --- while unfortunate --- would not be cause for immediate alarm for people on Social Security and Medicare. But these are not normal times. The Trump administration has made the shutdown more perilous for the most vulnerable Americans because of its campaign to undermine the delivery of both programs --- not to mention the President’s recent threat to cut benefits.
Social Security Comish Would Consider Raising Retirement Age
Despite Trump’s pledge not to cut Social Security, administration officials keep letting the real agenda slip out. First, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted that privatizing Social Security was on the table. Now, Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano says he’s open to the idea of raising the retirement age. (The current full retirement age is 67; congressional Republicans have floated proposals to raise it as high as 70.) In an interview on Fox Business News last week, host Maria Bartiromo asked Bisignano if he’d “consider raising the retirement age,” to which the commissioner replied, “I think everything’s being considered.”