Fiscal Cliff – Healthcare-NOW

The Biggest Myth in Obama-GOP Showdown is the “Fiscal Cliff” Itself

By Democracy Now – As negotiations continue between the White House and House Speaker John Boehner, leading economist Dean Baker joins to discuss the myths about the so-called fiscal cliff. With little more than two weeks before the deadline, President Obama insists on an immediate increase in the top two income-tax rates as a condition…

Raising Medicare age could leave hundreds of thousands uninsured

By Greg Sargent for the Washington Post – It looks increasingly possible that lawmakers will reach a fiscal cliff deal that includes a hike in the Medicare eligibility age — a concession to those on the right who seem determined to see very deep entitlement cuts, even if they take benefits away from vulnerable seniors.…

Is Obama Selling Us Out on Medicare?

Hiking the eligibility age is such a terrible idea Obama can’t possibly be considering it. Or can he? By Joan Walsh for Alternet – I want to put a public service announcement on top of this post: The fiscal cliff scenarios discussed here may never become reality. The worst sell-outs of liberal principles allegedly under…

The Honest and Just Path to a Sustainable Medicare

By Jessica Schorr Saxe – In January 2009, at the age of 63 1/2, my friend Carol Bentley was laid off her 10-year job without warning. In a one-two punch, her health insurance ended the next day. She could not afford COBRA. Desperate about her medical expenses, she was rescued when federal stimulus money temporarily…

Raising The Medicare Age May Be Good GOP Politics

But Single-Payer Is The Better Solution For All Americans By Rick Ungar for Forbes – As the GOP pursues its ‘War on Entitlements’ as a part of the fiscal cliff ballet, the notion of raising the age for entering Medicare has been gaining steam as a focal point of reform for the financially stressed government…

GOP leaders offer ‘fiscal cliff’ counterproposal

Would Raise Medicare’s Eligibility Age to 67 By Lori Montgomery for the Washington Post – House GOP leaders endorsed a debt-reduction plan Monday that would raise tax collections by $800 billion over the next decade, but they refused to budge on higher tax rates for the wealthy, the central issue dividing Republicans and Democrats. In…

Lobby, Organizing Materials for Protecting Medicare

Many single-payer activists and supporters have been thinking about, or already started, planning an event to protect Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security the week of December 10th (International Human Rights Day). To help, we created a number of resources you can use for a lobby visit or event. Download this letter (.doc) to sign and…

Dec. 10 – Rally to Stop the “Grand Bargain”

As you know, President Obama is seeking a “grand bargain” to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” coming at the end of the year. We already know that President Obama is willing to raise Medicare’s eligibility age from 65 to 67 and cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security by $650 billion. We need to stop any…

Opening Positions On The Cliff Deal: Deja Vu All Over Again

By Robert Reich – So the bidding has begun. According to the Wall Street Journal (which got the information from GOP leaders), the President’s opening bid to Republicans is: — $1.6 trillion in additional tax revenues over the next decade, from limiting tax deductions on the wealthy and raising tax rates on incomes over $250,000…

CEOs Underfund Employee Retirement, Demand Cuts For Elderly

By Christina Wilkie for Huffington Post – A group of high-profile corporate CEOs are lobbying Capitol Hill this week to put Social Security and Medicare cuts at the forefront of deficit reduction negotiations. Their own retirement funds, however, are secure: The coalition includes 54 CEOs who have amassed combined pension assets of more than $649…