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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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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Sequester 101: Is all this fuss really necessary?
The sequester spending cuts set to kick in March 1 address a serious long-term problem. But are they needed this year and in this way? No one thinks it's a perfect step.
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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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Decoder Wire Florida Gov. Rick Scott reverses stance on Medicaid. Win for White House? (+video)
An early 'Obamacare' foe, Republican Gov. Rick Scott announced his support for expanding Florida's Medicaid program. The move pits him against conservative governors with different plans.
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Tax VOX Bowles-Simpson II: a new plan to avoid the sequester
The Bowles-Simpson framework seems a plausible alternative to the current game of sequester-and-gridlock, Gleckman writes.
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Tax VOX Why welfare, food stamps, and other programs often discourage work
Food stamps, welfare, Medicaid and other tax and transfer systems can sometimes penalize people for earning that extra dollar of income, Steuerle writes.
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State of the Union 101: How much in Medicare cuts did Obama put on table?
Obama didn't offer as much in savings from Medicare cuts as did the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction commission. But his State of the Union message outlined ways to shave a good chunk of change from Medicare costs. Here's how.
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‘Grand bargain’ on deficit reduction: RIP?
President Obama's State of the Union address did nothing to address the nation's long-term fiscal imbalance, say deficit hawks. But Republicans share the blame.
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State of the Union 101: Has Obamacare really slowed rise of health costs?
The president's State of the Union claim that Obamacare has slowed the rise of health costs misses the fact that key provisions don't kick in until 2014 and that slower spending is related to a weak economy.
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Focus State of the Union: Obama's ambitious second-term agenda (+video)
Prospects are mixed for President Obama's second-term agenda, from immigration to climate change to economic recovery. Both Obama and the Republicans are walking a tricky political line.
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Focus State of the Union: Can Obama still be transformational?
In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Obama can fuel talk that he is the Democrats’ Ronald Reagan – an iconic figure whose goals guide his party's next generation.
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Recession averted, but rising debt still a threat, CBO warns
The CBO forecast on the economy describes the dilemma lawmakers face. Their successful measures to avoid a recession have left in place an expected dangerous rise in the national debt.
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Debt limit: Link any increase to spending cuts? Majority in poll says yes.
The results of the Monitor/TIPP poll – some 75 percent of respondents said the debt limit and spending should be linked – mesh with other surveys that cite rising concerns about deficits.
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Tax VOX The risks of aiming low in deficit reduction
Some on the left are defining successful deficit reduction too modestly, Penner writes, threatening to leave future fiscal policy perilously constrained.
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Tax VOX Budget crisis: five ways the parties increasingly disagree
Republicans and Democrats are setting out fiscal goals that are light-years apart, Gleckman writes. Here are five stumbling blocks to a budget deal:
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Surprise! California has a budget surplus
What's rarer than a conservative in Hollywood? A surplus in Sacramento. Gov. Jerry Brown's new budget closes the $25 billion deficit he inherited — and even shows a modest budget surplus.
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Jacob Lew: Is 'safe' choice for Treasury also a good choice? (+video)
Jacob Lew is valued by Obama as a Beltway numbers guy able to endure high-stakes budget fights. But some critics worry he won't tackle fast-rising debt. And the Treasury job could demand big duties beyond fiscal strategizing.
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Decoder Wire Congress more unpopular than Donald Trump, head lice
A new poll shows just how deeply, eye-poppingly unpopular Congress has become. But are voters partly to blame for lawmakers' failures?
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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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Robert Reich After the fiscal cliff comes the debt ceiling
The battle over the fiscal cliff was only a prelude to the coming battle over raising the debt ceiling – Reich writes – a battle that will likely continue through early March, when the Treasury runs out of tricks to avoid a default on the nation’s debt.
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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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GOP governors waver on Obamacare
Republican governors like Rick Scott in Florida, and Chris Christie in New Jersey, are struggling on how to handle President Barack Obama's remake of the health insurance market. While some have said they won't set up state-run exchanges, others say they're open to having a 'conversation.'
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