Dr. Donald Berwick may not be a household name yet, but if he is confirmed as the head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the position for which he was nominated by President Obama, he may soon determine the direction of health care of millions of Americans. So what’s the big deal about that? Earlier this week, a Washington Post editorial attributed the ongoing hold-up in Berwick’s confirmation hearing to “partisan politics”, claiming that, “Republicans are seizing on the Berwick nomination as an opportunity to relitigate the health-care …
Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its Social Security Policy Options report, which highlights some of the proposals made by policymakers and legislators to restore the Social Security program to long-term sustainability. Social Security, which provides living assistance to retired workers and those with disabilities, is in need of immediate reform. Social Security ran its first deficits since 1983 this year, and though economic recovery is expected to raise revenues higher than outlays once again for a few years, the program will be running permanent deficits from 2016 on. …
At this point, Americans on every imaginable side of the deficit debate agree that federal spending is out of control. Something must be done—but the question is, what, and how, and by whom? Lawmakers on Capitol Hill talk about deficit reduction an awful lot—so why haven’t they done anything about it yet? A recent article in The Hill highlights comments made by Heritage scholar Stuart Butler at a recent discussion sponsored by the Raben Group, a Democratic lobbying firm. Butler pointed out that the problem with addressing out-of-control federal spending …
Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office released its annual long-term Budget Outlook, which provides a look at mandatory federal spending on health care after passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. One may have expected to see drastic changes after the passage of Obamacare. After all, this legislation was supposed to reduce costs and overall health spending. However, the CBO’s report highlights the unlikelihood that cost-containment strategies included in the new law will ever come to fruition. In its projections, CBO looks at two scenarios. The extended-baseline scenario assumes …
Today, Heritage budget expert Brian Riedl testified before the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, more commonly known as President Obama’s “deficit commission.” The commission has been tasked to offer suggestions to reduce the federal deficit—a necessity which was proven even more serious today by the release of the Congressional Budget Office’s annual long-term Budget Outlook. Today’s meeting was the third for the commission, and was intended to serve as an opportunity for the appointees to hear from the public on the topic of deficit reduction. To paraphrase Senator …
Recently, the New York Times highlighted a booming trend toward greater price transparency in medicine thanks to up-and-comers such as Castlight, a new company aiming to create a search engine of health care prices. Others sharing in this endeavor include both public and private entities in Tennessee and New Hampshire, as well as several insurance companies. Lack of transparency regarding pricing of medical services has often been attributed as one of the factors contributing to skyrocketing spending in the health care system, a concern which drew considerable attention during the …
On Saturday, June 26, America Speaks will host a national town hall meeting in which any and all Americans will be able to voice their opinions on the federal budget and the devastating effects that Washington’s growing deficits will have on the U.S. economy. The discussion will focus on ways to address the fiscal crisis before it is too late. Federal deficits are growing due to increasing spending, not because of a lack of revenue. Heritage budget expert Brian Riedl explains in a recent paper: The composition of spending has …
This upcoming Saturday, AmericaSpeaks, a non-partisan organization devoted to re-energizing democracy in the U.S., will hold a nationwide discussion on the federal budget and runaway spending in Washington. Americans with all viewpoints are encouraged to make their voices heard regarding this crucial aspect of America’s future. With the president’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform in the throes of its own discussion on how best to tackle growing deficits, this opportunity could not come at a better time. To contribute effectively, citizens must understand the following: What’s the problem? …
Health care is a life-and-death matter. It’s also a huge part of our economy (one-sixth, to be exact). With so much at stake, it makes sense to “go slow,” when it comes to reforming the system. But rather than take the time to get it right, the liberal leaders of Congress rammed through a wholesale restructuring of the system without giving their rank and file enough time to read—much less comprehend—what they were up to. The rush to “reform” didn’t stop there, either. The Obamacare bill imposed a host of …
Many Americans mistake the United States’ capability to borrow money as an indicator that our nation is incapable of incurring the same fiscal mess Greece currently finds itself in. In reality, this isn’t so, and this mentality could prove dangerous for America’s future if used to placate lawmakers regarding the actual state of our fiscal house. Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan explains in an article published today in the Wall Street Journal that subdued long-term interest rates are “fostering a sense of complacency that can have dire consequences.” But …
