Healthcare-NOW

Americans Reject ‘Grand Bargain’ Cuts to Social Security and Medicare

By Kenneth Quinnell for AFL-CIO Blog – Reflecting what voters said in AFL-CIO’s election-night poll, a poll conducted on behalf of Democracy Corps and the Campaign for America’s Future (CAF) shows that voters strongly reject proposals to cut Social Security and Medicare. When asked which was more important, 70% of respondents said that protecting education, Medicare and Social…

The Grand Bargain is a Grand Lie

Why the scheme being negotiated in Washington is one-sided and totally unfair By Cenk Uygur for Common Dreams – First of all, let’s establish that no one in Washington actually cares about balancing the budget. If they did, they would love this so-called Fiscal Cliff. It raises taxes and cuts spending, so it would massively…

My Life Under Medicare For All

By Adam Chimienti for Counterpunch – Now that the astronomically expensive corporate election of 2012 is behind us and we are grappling with the devastating reality of a post-Hurricane Sandy United States, maybe it’s time to focus on Medicare for All. That is, maybe it’s time for renewed action on a national health insurance program…

What will liberals do with their big election victory?

With fights over social security, Medicare, ongoing war, and other key progressive priorities looming, what will they do with their new power? By Glenn Greenwald for the Guardian – The greatest and most enduring significance of Tuesday night’s election results will likely not be the re-election of Barack Obama, but rather what the outcome reflects…

Canadian Example Offers a Possible Path to Curbing US Medicare Costs

By Mike Mitka for News@JAMA – While Medicare costs continue to rise and Democrats and Republicans promote various plans to curb such spending, 2 researchers suggest politicians look north to Canada for solutions. In a Research Letter published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the authors compare Medicare spending from 1980 through 2009 in…

Single-Payer Activists Protest Obama and Romney

From Free Speech TV and Democracy Now – Both President Obama and Mitt Romney appeared together in New York Thursday night (Oct. 18, 2012) for the annual Al Smith memorial charity dinner. Outside the event, a group of protesters including physicians and medical students rallied to call for a single-payer health insurance program.

Remembering Jerry Tucker

The single-payer and labor movements lost a hero last week on October 19 when Jerry Tucker passed away. He co-founded the Labor Campaign for Single Payer Health Care along with Healthcare-NOW! Steering Committee member Mark Dudzic. By Mark Dudzic for Labor Notes – It was the mid-1980s. Deindustrialization and globalization were becoming permanent trends. They…

The Grim Consequences of Closing Urban Hospitals

By Emily Badger for the Atlantic – In 1995, Philadelphia had 19 hospitals with obstetric units, places where local women – about half of them on Medicaid – could go for prenatal care and, ultimately, to deliver their babies. Then these hospitals started closing, not one or two as occasionally happens in the life of…

Romney: People Don’t Die For Lack Of Insurance

From NPR – Another day, another editorial board, another controversial remark for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. On Wednesday, it was abortion. On Thursday, health care. The former Massachusetts governor has said repeatedly that one of his top priorities is to repeal the federal Affordable Care Act, known increasingly as “Obamacare.” He’s said less about…

Private Insurers Profit by Ripping Off Medicare

Researchers say private programs like Medicare Advantage just add waste; Call for reformed, expanded Medicare for All From Common Dreams – New research by health care experts concludes that privately run insurance plans designed to supplement the Medicare system serve no truly useful purpose and instead of helping seniors receive better care, Medicare Advantage plans…