Healthcare-NOW

Medicaid cuts could come from Democrats

By J. Lester Feder for Politico – Defenders of Medicaid have been fighting hard against Republican proposals to cut the program, but they’re just waking up to the threat of one proposed by the Obama administration. It’s an idea to change the way federal matching funds work and save money in the process — and…

AZ Man Makes $12 Too Much to Get Coverage for Heart Surgery

Last week, the Arizona Supreme Court announced that it will not be taking action to stop planned Medicaid cuts or an enrollment freeze. By Zaid Jilani for ThinkProgress – Since last year, low-income Arizonans have been feeling the impact of a series of brutal Medicaid cuts that officials predict will kick at least 135,000 people…

Union Nurses Call for Single-Payer System

By Emily P. Walker, MedPage Today – Several hundred members of National Nurses United held a rally here on Tuesday to call for a single-payer healthcare system, an end to tax breaks for big corporations, and workers’ rights. The nurses started their march in front of the White House and walked across the street to…

John Boehner Didn’t Cry for Us, He Locked Us Out of His Office

A Capitol Police Officer oversees us deliver 2,100 letters to Rep. John Boehner asking him not to cut Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security. Thanks to all of our supporters, over 2,100 people signed our petition asking Speaker of the House John Boehner not to cut or privatize Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security. Many of you…

Christie proposal to slash Medicaid by $540 million puts NJ at center of national debate

By the AP – TRENTON, N.J. — As states across the country look for ways to trim billions off their spending on Medicaid, New Jersey is garnering particular attention for a proposal that opponents characterize as an unprecedented and draconian attempt to balance the state’s precarious budget on the backs of society’s most vulnerable populations.…

GOP Pushes To Let States Reduce Medicaid Rolls

By Mary Agnes Carey and Phil Galewitz for KHN – With their proposal to turn Medicaid into block grants all but dead, Republicans now are pushing legislation to let states tighten eligibility rules for the health program for the poor and disabled. The move, which would affect Medicaid as well as the Children’s Health Insurance…

Keep Your Hands Off My Medicare!

By Katrina vanden Heuvel for the Nation – It’s been a common refrain of politicians in Washington for as long as the capitol has been unpopular: “It’s good to get outside the Beltway, good to go get back to the real America.” But in recent days that cliché might feel a bit stale for Republican…

89 Arrested Protesting Paul Ryan’s Medicaid Cuts

By David Nather for Politico – Capitol Police arrested 89 disability rights protesters late Monday for occupying the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building in a demonstration against Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicaid plan, which they said would force people with disabilities to live in nursing homes rather than in their own homes. The protesters…

In Florida, H.M.O.’s Would Treat Medicaid Patients

By Lizette Alvarez for the New York Times – DAVIE, Fla. — A crucial experiment in the future of Medicaid is playing out in Florida, where both houses of the Legislature are vying to find ways to drastically cut costs, manage care and reduce waste and fraud. The cuts and changes being sought by the…

Another poll shows Americans oppose Medicare cuts to deal with debt

By Jon Cohen and Dan Balz for the Washington Post – Despite growing concerns about the country’s long-term fiscal problems and an intensifying debate in Washington about how to deal with them, Americans strongly oppose some of the major remedies under consideration, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The survey finds that Americans…