Third Way Perspectives
Posts Tagged ‘Medicaid’
Entitlement reform key to U.S. future
February 27th, 2013
This piece was originally published in Politico.
As the sequester blame game hits fever pitch this week, Republicans’ stance on taxes is simply indefensible, falling hundreds of billions short of even their own prior positions. But as Democrats, we also share a large portion of responsibility for the coming cuts to domestic discretionary spending, as the party has decided in both action and rhetoric that meaningful fixes to the major entitlement programs of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are off-limits.
Think about it. Over the past three years, from debt ceiling deals to the supercommittee and the fiscal cliff, social insurance programs have escaped virtually unscathed while every other category of spending took some hit and revenue grew. And because of the sheer enormousness of the Big 3 entitlements, Democrats face a serious new crisis that is closer to home and will linger long past the sequester: There is now barely a farthing left in the budget for any new investments.
Over the past century, Democrats can boast two major economic legacies. The first is the safety net programs of the New Deal and the Great Society — successful programs that lifted the elderly and vulnerable out of poverty. The second is the New Frontier investment programs defined and expanded under President John F. Kennedy. These investments in science, space, defense, education, as well as highways, rails, ports and medical breakthroughs helped power the U.S. economy during the latter half of the 20th century.
Next Steps: Health Care Cost Savings and Coverage for the Poor
June 28th, 2012
The Supreme Court ruling on health care re-affirms the President’s goal of stable and secure coverage for the middle class and the nation. It is time for the Republicans to drop their fight against the law and join forces with Democrats against a common enemy: rising health care costs. Both parties should take full advantage of the key role that states play in health care, an important topic the Supreme Court also ruled on today.
Today’s ruling affects the expansion of health care coverage to the poor under Medicaid. As a quick refresher: the Affordable Care Act required states to expand coverage to all the poor under Medicaid. Today, one-third of the poor have no coverage under Medicaid, through a job, or any other source.
The Supreme Court affirmed the federal funding for that coverage, but said states should be free to choose whether to accept it for expanding Medicaid. From the start of the expansion in 2014 through 2016, federal funding covers 100 percent of the costs of expanding Medicaid, but after that, the states will start splitting the cost with the feds. The state’s costs are capped at 10% of the total, far less than their typical share, which averages 32% across the states.
What does this mean?
The Deficit Primary
April 13th, 2011
This piece was originally published in Politico.
With today’s address on deficit reduction, President Barack Obama is making a shrewd opening move for his 2012 campaign — laying claim to the political center, challenging Beltway orthodoxies and setting the stage for a possible historic agreement on the budget.
Obama reportedly is set to propose serious entitlement reforms — only three months after 200 progressive groups lobbied the White House to keep Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid off the agenda. Instead, he’s expected to reach out tonight with both hands and grab onto the “third rail” of American politics.
But rather than getting burned, Obama may emerge well positioned for his reelection.
Now that we’re focused on debt, let’s make some difficult choices
September 28th, 2010
This piece was originally published in The Hill.
It took America 193 years to run up its first trillion dollars of debt; it took us 10 months to run up our most recent.
For much of the 20th century, the United States was a production giant. We produced much of the world’s goods; we led in innovation; our service sector exploded; our middle class became the envy of the world and we became the most powerful economy on earth. Slowly, however, we became a consumption giant. We now power the world’s economy as much by what we consume as what we make. We’ve become, in the words of Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), “the kid with the cake mustache on his face.”
Three Ways the Health Reform Package Helps Control Costs
March 22nd, 2010
This piece was originally published in Reuters.
Among the many unfair accusations leveled at the health reform package just passed by the House is that it “does nothing” to control soaring health care costs.
In fact, nothing can be further from the truth.
Is Health Care Reform Still Progressive?
December 22nd, 2009
Originally published in Roll Call
Eleven months ago, in the midst of a Category 5 economic hurricane, President Barack Obama, Congress and progressive leaders embarked on an improbable quest to pass comprehensive health insurance. The goal was to provide coverage to tens of millions of Americans, health care stability to the middle class, cut costs to business and individuals, and, don’t forget, reduce the federal deficit without raising taxes on average Americans.
On Thursday, the United States Senate will vote on a bill that, miraculously, does just that. The House has already acted. And yet, on blog posts, op-ed pages and in Congress, many progressives seem absolutely miserable. Why?