“Health insurance companies have largely bit their tongues about the Senate health care plan, but they are turning against it now, warning that a recent revision would send premiums skyrocketing for people with high medical costs.” More …
Month: July 2017
States May See Federal Medicaid Funding Decline Up to 39 Percent Under Obamacare Repeal
“Fifteen states would see their federal Medicaid funding decline by more than 35 percent by 2036. They include California, Nevada, Kentucky, Washington, North Dakota, Oregon and New Mexico. States that would see reductions between 30 and 35 percent include Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Ohio, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, according to documents obtained by POLITICO.” More …
Trump’s Medicare Trustees Endorse Improvement in Program’s Finances Under Obama
“The largest change in the Social Security and Medicare trustees’ reports during the Obama administration was the sharp improvement in the projections of Medicare’s finances. In the 2008 Trustees report, the last one produced during the George W. Bush administration, the Medicare program was projected to have a cumulative deficit over its 75-year planning period equal to 3.54 percent of covered payroll. This shortfall was sharply reduced during the Obama years, partly due to changes put in place by the Affordable Care Act, and partly due to a more general slowing in the rate of growth of health care costs. As a result, the projected shortfall in the program in 2016 was just 0.73 percent of payroll, a reduction of almost 80 percent.” More …
A Message to Trump Voters on the Occasion of This Healthcare Bill
“You pulled the lever. This is what you were voting for.” More …
IMF Cuts U.S. Growth Forecasts, Cites Trump Fiscal Plan Uncertainty
“The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its growth forecasts for the U.S. economy to 2.1 percent for both 2017 and 2018, dropping its assumption that President Donald Trump’s tax cut and fiscal spending plans would boost growth. The IMF, after a review of U.S. economic policy, said the Trump administration was unlikely to achieve its goal of annual GDP growth of 3 percent over a sustained period, partly because the labor market is at a level consistent with full employment. The U.S. economy grew 1.6 percent last year.” More …
Russian Official Linked to South Florida Biker Club Spent Millions on Trump condos
“Out-of-town money pouring into South Florida real estate is as old as Henry Flagler. But the tale of Igor Zorin offers a 21st-century twist with all the weirdness modern Miami has to offer: Russian cash, a motorcycle club named after Russia’s powerful special forces and a condo tower branded by Donald Trump.” More …
Even Donald Trump’s Schedule Has Become a Victim of a White House Push Against Transparency
“First they came for the on-camera briefings. Now the White House press office is marking President Donald Trump’s daily schedule as non-reportable — marking one more step in what both media and free speech watchdogs are calling out as an continuing effort to hamper coverage of the administration.” More …
When Will Climate Change Make the Earth Too Hot For Humans?
“Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak — sooner than you think.” More …
GOP Super PAC Linked to Paul Ryan Used Illegally Russian Hacked Material Against Democratic House Candidates: Report
“The New York Times reports The Congressional Leadership Fund used info leaked by Russian hackers in campaign ads.” More …
Russia Sanctions Bill Stalled by GOP Over Energy Provisions
“House Republicans are throwing up new roadblocks to a Russia and Iran sanctions bill over concerns from the energy industry that a provision could block U.S. companies from lucrative foreign oil deals.” More …