Medicare

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Joe Lieberman Nixes Medicare Buy-In Plan

Gives Reid new a new obstacle on path to passing health bill

(Newser) - Joe Lieberman will stand in the way of the Senate health reform bill if it includes the Medicare buy-in provision for people over 55, he told Harry Reid yesterday. Lieberman delivered the bad news face-to-face after he and fellow centrist Ben Nelson went on Face the Nation to bash the...

Health Bill Snags on Opposition to Medicare Buy-In

Snowe, Lieberman, Nelson skeptical

(Newser) - Three senators uneasy about the proposed Medicare expansion in the health care bill could derail Harry Reid's hopes of getting the bill wrapped up before Christmas. Olympia Snowe, Ben Nelson, and Joe Lieberman—a Republican, a Democrat, and an independent—have expressed varying degrees of misgivings about the proposal and...

Medicare Buy-In May Replace Public Option

Reid tells Democrats to find compromise by tonight

(Newser) - Senate Democrats trying to hammer out a compromise on health care reform are considering ditching the bill's public option in favor of expanding the public options that already exist. People over 55 will be able to buy into the Medicare program and Medicaid will be expanded under the proposals being...

We'll Be on Fiscal Life Support if Health Bill Dies
We'll Be on Fiscal Life Support if Health Bill Dies
PAUL KRUGMAN
Dec 4, 2009 2:13 AM CST

We'll Be on Fiscal Life Support if Health Bill Dies

This could be the last chance to rein in Medicare costs

(Newser) - Centrist senators worried about the fiscal burden of the health care bill should be asking themselves what will happen if it doesn't pass, writes Paul Krugman. The legislation almost certainly represents the last chance to rein in Medicare costs, the main cause of projected future deficits, before they cause a...

White House Backs Senate On 'Cadillac' Health Tax

Advisers outline cost control measures for health plan

(Newser) - The White House has come down firmly on the Senate's side over big discrepancies between the House and Senate health bills. Senior advisers to President Obama said yesterday an excise tax on expensive, "Cadillac" health plans and a commission to control Medicare spending were among the “four pillars"...

Meet the Lone GOP Rep to Vote for House Bill

La. freshman Cao cites district's health woes, abortion concession

(Newser) - House Democrats are wryly proclaiming their health care bill a bipartisan victory—and thanks goes to Ahn "Joseph" Cao, the New Orleans freshman who was the lone Republican to support the bill, reports the New York Times in a look at the man behind the vote. The new abortion...

AARP Will Endorse House Dems' Health Bill

Seniors group helped Bush get drug plan through Congress

(Newser) - In a coup for House Democrats, AARP will endorse sweeping health-care overhaul legislation, officials said today. An endorsement from the seniors' lobby was crucial when then-President Bush pushed the Medicare prescription drug benefit through a closely divided Congress in 2003. House Democrats are hoping it will work the same political...

Senate Finally Confirms Surgeon General

Republicans relent after weeks of procedural delays

(Newser) - The Senate unanimously confirmed Regina Benjamin as US surgeon general yesterday after Republicans ended a procedural delay that had dragged on for several weeks. Mitch McConnell and seven other GOP senators said they stalled because of an administration “gag order” that prevented insurers from giving their opinions on the...

Pelosi to Liberals: Cheer Up, Shut Up
Pelosi to Liberals:
Cheer Up, Shut Up
Interview
Oct 30, 2009 9:05 AM CDT

Pelosi to Liberals: Cheer Up, Shut Up

Get on board, says speaker, and don't expect amendments

(Newser) - The health care bill Nancy Pelosi unveiled yesterday may not be as liberal as some of her colleagues would like, but she says they’d better get over it. The speaker intends to keep debate to a minimum, and squash any attempt to add an amendment that would strengthen the...

Pelosi to Unveil Bill With Weaker Public Option

Liberals suck it up as plan tied to Medicare rates lacks votes

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi will unveil her long-awaited version of the health care reform bill today, but it won’t include the top item on liberals’ wish list: a public option with rates tied to Medicare. Instead, the bill contains a weaker version of the government-run plan that would let doctors negotiate...

Forget the $250 Checks, Obama: Say No to Grandma
Forget the $250 Checks, Obama: Say No to Grandma
David Leonhardt
Oct 28, 2009 8:35 AM CDT

Forget the $250 Checks, Obama: Say No to Grandma

To cut deficit, we have to cut benefits to seniors

(Newser) - Economists are none too impressed with Barack Obama's proposal to send each senior a cool $250, and David Leonhardt can see why. The over-65 set has weathered the recession better than anyone—many of them purchased real estate well before the housing bubble burst, and few work in the most-battered...

US Health Care Wastes $700B a Year
 US Health Care 
 Wastes $700B a Year 
Study sees huge savings
Oct 26, 2009 5:53 AM CDT

US Health Care Wastes $700B a Year

A third of spending is lost to pointless treatment, paperwork, fraud

(Newser) - A study by Thomson Reuters released today confirms President Obama's contention that the American health care system is hemorrhaging billions of dollars a year, with one-third of the cost of care wasted on inefficiency, mistakes, and fraud. The report, which cites dozens of research papers, finds that about $700 billion...

Dems: Let's Just Call 'Public Option' Medicare

House Reps suggest rebranding government-run plan

(Newser) - Some House Democrats think the public option would sound better if they renamed it “Medicare,” or maybe “Medicare Part E,” as in “Medicare for Everyone.” They think that rebranding could bridge the gap between liberals and centrists who oppose the plan. “People don’...

Dems, GOP Fight Over Medicare Rates
Dems, GOP
Fight Over Medicare Rates
Oct 21, 2009 12:33 PM CDT

Dems, GOP Fight Over Medicare Rates

Republicans say foes are trying to hide true cost

(Newser) - A new health care-related bill is in the spotlight on Capitol Hill, as senators battle over a Democratic proposal to freeze Medicare rates for doctors at the current rate for 10 years—overriding a 21% cut scheduled for January. Democrats say the bill, which is backed by lobbyists from the...

Pelosi Fighting for Stronger Public Option

Plan with Medicare-linked option would cost only $871B

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi is on a mission to pass the strongest public option on the table in the House—a plan that would pay doctors the same rates as Medicare—and she's close to having enough votes, she told fellow Dems last night. The plan would cost just $871 billion, according...

Mayo Clinic Turns Away Medicare, Medicaid Patients

Hospital praised for efficiency treats increasingly wealthy population

(Newser) - The Mayo Clinic, which has gotten plaudits from the White House for its low spending on Medicare and Medicaid patients, is turning some of those patients away. The clinic will stop accepting Medicaid patients from Nebraska or Montana at its main Rochester, Minnesota, campus, and will no longer offer primary...

ObamaCare Opposition Drops

Poll finds nation now evenly split on health care reform plans

(Newser) - Opposition to President Obama's health care reform plans has plunged almost 10% in the last months, leaving the nation evenly split with 40% in favor and 40% opposed, according to the latest AP poll. Another 17% are neutral and 3% are undecided. Opposition among seniors, the group most skeptical about...

How Obama Wooed and Won the AMA: With a $228B Gift
How Obama  Wooed and Won the AMA: With a $228B Gift
health care reform
Sep 14, 2009 11:16 AM CDT

How Obama Wooed and Won the AMA: With a $228B Gift

Plan gives huge concession to doctor's group

(Newser) - Ever since its cries of “socialized medicine” killed Harry Truman’s attempt to reform health care 60 years ago, the AMA has been not only a vociferous enemy of reform, but a deep-pocketed one—only the Chamber of Commerce has spent more on lobbying over the past decade. But...

Mr. President, Stop Picking On 'Bureaucrats'
Mr. President, Stop Picking On 'Bureaucrats'
OPINION
Sep 12, 2009 12:55 PM CDT

Mr. President, Stop Picking On 'Bureaucrats'

What happened to making government 'cool' again?

(Newser) - In his admirable quest to make government work for the people, President Obama has stooped to the lowest common denominator and vilified “bureaucrats,” writes Max Stier in the Washington Post. A typical shot from the president recently: “I don't want government bureaucrats meddling in your health care....

Rural States Would Gain Most From Health Reform...

...but their vehement residents want it least

(Newser) - With some of the highest percentages of uninsured citizens, rural states like Wyoming and Iowa stand to benefit the most from health care reform—but they’re also home to its most vocal detractors, the Los Angeles Times reports. Such states tend to have lower personal incomes, more small businesses...

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