Topic: Medicaid
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If not 'sequester,' then what? Five ideas from left and right.
Few in Washington believe that "the sequester,” $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to hit the federal budget as of March 1, is a good idea. But what's the alternative? Here are five proposals, from the right, the center, and the left, to replace the sequester. Which do you like?
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Sequester 101: What happens if $85 billion in cuts hit on March 1
The sequester is a complex concept with a tortuous history. Here are the basics on the automatic spending reductions set to kick in March 1.
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Senate freshmen: What the 14 new members bring to Capitol Hill
A freshman Senate class was sworn in Jan. 3, bringing diverse skills and experience – not to mention agendas – to the legislative body. Whether the 14 newest senators help break partisan gridlock, or refuse to work across the aisle, will be the test for the 113th Congress.Twelve were elected on Nov. 6, including three Republicans, eight Democrats, and an independent. In addition, a Republican and a Democrat were appointed to vacant seats after the election. Here is a look at the 14 and what they bring to the Senate:
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How much do you know about US entitlement programs? Take our quiz.
The push to reform entitlement programs is at the heart of debates about the future of the US budget. They include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (welfare).
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Focus
The Monitor's top 11 US stories of 2012
From storms to politics, the year was a wild ride. What are the most meaningful US stories of 2012? Here's the Monitor's list, in roughly chronological order.
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Opinion: Obamacare faces new legal challenge: Its 'tax' still violates the Constitution
The Supreme Court saved Obamacare by deeming the law's individual mandate a 'tax.' But in that case, the law violates the Constitution's Origination Clause, which says all tax bills must originate in the House, not the Senate. Letting the law stand sets a dangerous precedent.
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Immigration reform bill may hang on economic effect of legalizing millions
Friday's testimony at first Senate hearing on the bipartisan immigration reform bill presented economic pros and cons of legalizing some 11 million people. A chief concern is wage suppression for low-skill Americans.
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Opinion: Opponents of Medicaid expansion put politics over people
The rejection by several Republican-led states of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion to provide health care access to millions of America’s poor isn’t just partisan politics; it’s immoral. It’s not too late to press state leaders to put people ahead of partisanship.
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Entitlement reform takes step toward reality in new Obama budget
President Obama will unveil a budget Wednesday that includes reforms to entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare. The budget probably won't pass, but it points to a shift in the debate.
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Obama budget takes heat from all quarters (+video)
Republicans reject any new taxes. Liberals say they'll fight any changes to Social Security and other entitlement programs. Does the Obama administration have any room to maneuver?
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Cover Story
Immigration reform: What the last 'path to citizenship' did for immigrantsCongress is considering comprehensive immigration reform, including amnesty, work visas, and guest worker programs. What this path to citizenship could mean for 11 million illegal immigrants can be seen in the 1986 amnesty of 3 million legalized in the last major immigration overhaul.
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Obama's budget offends just about everybody. Is that compromise?
President Obama will unveil his federal budget proposal this coming week. Based on leaked details, the plan already is getting hammered by his own liberal base as well as by Republicans.
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Medicare: Could Rep. Paul Ryan's reform plan work?The only big Medicare reform idea that's been pitched in public is called 'premium support,' championed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R). Here's how it would work, and here's why Democrats deride it as a 'voucher.'
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Taming Medicare costs: What are the options?The US spends twice as much per person on health care as other advanced economies, and Medicare is one of the biggest culprits. But here's why cutting its costs won't be easy.
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Robert Reich Why don't politicians listen to public opinion on the economy?
Why are politicians so sensitive to public opinion on equal marriage rights, immigration, and guns – Reich asks – and so tone deaf to what most Americans want on the economy?
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The Vote Donald Trump CPAC speech: Is he a Democratic secret agent? (+video)
Donald Trump, speaking at CPAC Friday, envisioned a GOP turnaround that involves either repudiating basic Republican beliefs or doubling down on stuff that’s getting the party in trouble.
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Democrats' new budget proposal: why it's balanced ... but not balanced (+video)
Senate Democrats have put forward a new budget proposal that offers balanced deficit reduction (between cuts and new tax revenue), but doesn't balance the budget.
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Decoder Wire Obama argues a balanced budget isn't necessary. Can he convince the public?
Republicans propose to balance the budget within 10 years, while Democrats argue that such a move could actually hurt the economy. History suggests the politics may be on Republicans' side.
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Why, after all these years, the Senate is working on a budget (+VIDEO)
Senate Democrats didn't pass a budget resolution for the previous three years, but they are taking steps to do it this year. Three things, in particular, have changed.
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What's in Paul Ryan plan? Surprising numbers from GOP House budget. (+video)
The GOP budget plan Paul Ryan is putting forward in the House is filled with ambitious numbers, big and small. The bottom line: reduce the national debt and the interest payments to service it.
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Paul Ryan's new budget whittles spending faster, still guts 'Obamacare'
Rep. Paul Ryan, GOP budget meister, unveils his latest budget blueprint Tuesday. It's not much different from his plan in prior years, but it accelerates the time frame for achieving a balanced budget.
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Paul Ryan's new Medicare plan could be tip of the iceberg (+video)
As Rep. Paul Ryan this week once again proposes reforms to Medicare, there are signs that others in Congress are acknowledging that Medicare deficits must be addressed.
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Tax VOX Medicaid expansion: A deal states cannot refuse?
Bubbling just beneath the surface of the debate over whether states should expand Medicaid under the 2010 Affordable Care Act is an issue of trust, Gleckman writes: Would the feds keep their part of the bargain?
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Life after 'sequester': Does federal budget have $1 trillion in fat to cut?
Deficit hawks say that, 'sequester' or not, federal spending needs to come down by at least $1 trillion during the next decade. But finding that money just in government waste is hard.
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Tax revenue to hit record this year. So is spending 'the problem'?
Tax revenue could hit $2.7 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Conservatives say this means spending cuts are the solution, but the budget numbers tell a more complicated story.
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What the 'sequester' means for you ... and what won't change
For millions of Americans, life should go on much as usual, but for millions of others cuts in federal spending from the 'sequester' are likely to bring tangible effects. Which camp are you in?
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Obama's divide-and-conquer strategy: Is it really about destroying GOP?
The day after Obama's inauguration, Boehner accused him of trying to 'annihilate' the Republicans. Indeed, the party's struggles since have only grown. But weakening the GOP may not be all Obama wants.
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Simpson-Bowles health-care plan offers $600 billion in cuts, but few specifics
$600 billion in cuts to heath-care spending have been proposed as part of a $2.4 trillion deficit reduction plan Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson released Tuesday. But heath-care experts doubt that target could be reached without changes to Medicare and Medicaid.
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Governors: Automatic cuts could undermine economy
Budget stalemate in Washington worries Democratic and Republican governors. Automatic spending cuts March 1 cut stall recent economic gains, they warn.
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If not 'sequester,' then what? Five ideas from left and right.
Few in Washington believe that "the sequester,” $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to hit the federal budget as of March 1, is a good idea. But what's the alternative? Here are five proposals, from the right, the center, and the left, to replace the sequester. Which do you like?
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