NY Times: Obama Budget Opens Rift for Democrats on Social Benefits
By JACKIE CALMES Published: April 10, 2013 WASHINGTON — President Obama’s new budget has opened a debate over what it means to be a progressive Democrat in an age of austerity and defines him as a president willing to take on the two pillars of his party — Medicare and Social Security — created by Democratic presidents. By his gamble on … Read more
The Hill: Economist: Individual mandate’s penalty is high enough
By Sam Baker - 01/18/13 10:43 AM ET The penalty for going uninsured under President Obama’s signature healthcare law is probably high enough be effective, healthcare economist Austin Frakt says in a new analysis. Frakt, a health economist at Boston University, compared the penalties in the Affordable Care Act to those in Massachusetts’ healthcare law, which … Read more
California Healthline: Obama Vows To Protect Entitlement Programs in Inauguration Speech
During his second inauguration speech on Monday, President Obama reiterated his goal to curb rising federal health care costs without cutting Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries’ benefits, Modern Healthcare reports (Daly, Modern Healthcare, 1/21). Obama said, “We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit,” adding, “But we reject the belief … Read more
California Healthline: Report: Regardless of ACA Expansion, States’ Medicaid Costs To Grow
Although states’ Medicaid spending will increase under the Affordable Care Act, the program’s expansion accounts for only a small portion of those costs, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” reports (Baker, “Healthwatch,” The Hill, 11/26). According to the report, states will spend an additional $76 billion and the federal government will spend an … Read more
Coalition on Human Needs: New Poverty Analysis Shows Importance of Tax Credits, SNAP, and Unemployment Insurance
The U.S. Census Bureau released its Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) findings for 2011 last week, showing its research taking into account estimates of people’s income and expenditures that more accurately reflect current patterns. The Supplemental Poverty Measure, unlike the official definition of poverty, counts SNAP/food stamps, housing and energy assistance and low-income tax credits as income; it … Read more
California Healthline: Local, National Reforms Both Needed, Policy Leaders Told
by George Lauer (Guest Contributor) BALTIMORE — Although their approaches may appear to be at odds with each other at the onset, a top federal bureaucrat and a national business leader assured health policy leaders Wednesday that government and commercial interests can work together effectively to reform the country’s health care system. “We’ll figure it … Read more
AARP: Across the State 2012: Profiles of Long Term Services and Supports
by: Ari Houser, Wendy Fox-Grage, Kathleen Ujvari | from: Public Policy Institute | September, 2012 Across the States 2012: Profiles of Long-Term Services and Supports is the ninth edition of the AARP Public Policy Institute’s state long-term services and supports reference report. Published for the past 18 years, the Across the Statesseries was developed to help inform policy discussions … Read more
California Healthline – Obama, Romney Health Care Differences Detailed in Study
by Steve Hart (Guest Contributor) Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney would dismantle most of the federal Affordable Care Act and make sweeping changes to Medicare and Medicaid, according to a study released Wednesday by UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research. The side-by-side analysis of health care proposals in the 2012 presidential contest found stark policy … Read more
USA Today: AARP – A big step toward retirement security
Americans just don’t save for retirement. This plan could help. 8:07PM EDT October 9. 2012 - Nearly half of all working Americans do not have access to a retirement savings plan at work. For those with a 401(k), the amount in their plan would pay them a retirement benefit of less than $80 a month for … Read more
CDCAN: Adult Day Health Care – Community-Based Adult Services Program Medi-Cal Transition Focus of Sept 24th 1-3 PM Oversight Hearing
TRANSITION OF 35,000 PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES & SENIORS FROM ADULT DAY HEALTH CARE TO NEW “COMMUNITY-BASED ADULT SERVICES” PROGRAM FOCUS OF SEPT 24THLEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT HEARING · Assembly Aging and Long Term Care Committee Will Hear from Brown Administration and People with Disabilities & Seniors and Families, Disability & Senior Advocacy Groups and Providers · Major Concerns Raised … Read more
