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Louisiana's Medicaid Waiver Proposal
December 17, 2008
In the Louisiana Health Care Reform Act of 2007, the Louisiana legislature put the state on a path intended to transform how Medicaid beneficiaries and low-income uninsured people get health care services. The Act directed the state Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) to establish a “medical home system of care” with the goal of improving patient … -
The Long-Term Fiscal Outlook Is Bleak
December 16, 2008
This report updates the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ projections of federal spending, revenues, deficits, and debt through 2050. These projections — like the projections the Center issued in January 2007 and the projections by other institutions such as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Government Accountability … -
Podcast: Long Term Deficit Projections Highlight Need for Action
December 16, 2008
This podcast discusses a report that provides updated long-term federal budget projections. The report describes the factors driving the big increases in deficits and debt projected for the next several decades, such as rapidly rising health care costs and revenues that are inadequate to cover even current expenditures. This podcast features the Center's Executive Director Robert … -
An Examination of the Wyden-Bennett Health Reform Plan
September 24, 2008
Click here for an up-to-date listing of recent Center health reform analyses. Introduction and Executive Summary The U.S. health care system suffers from a number of serious problems. According to the latest Census data, 45.7 million individuals were without health insurance in 2007, an increase of 5.9 million people since 2001. Employer-based coverage, the … -
Rhode Island's Medicaid Proposal Would Put Beneficiaries at Risk and Undermine the Federal-State Partnership
September 4, 2008
On August 8, Rhode Island applied for federal permission to radically transform its Medicaid program in ways that could profoundly affect beneficiaries.[1] If approved, the proposal could also set a national precedent that would affect low-income people in other states who rely on Medicaid to obtain needed health care. The proposal … -
Poverty and Share of Americans Without Health Insurance Were Higher in 2007 - And Median Income for Working-Age Households Was Lower - Than at the Bottom of Last Recession
August 26, 2008
The number of Americans in poverty climbed by 816,000 in 2007, while the poverty rate remained statistically unchanged, overall median income rose modestly, and the number and percentage of Americans without health insurance fell somewhat, according to Census data issued today. But the poverty rate remained higher, median income for working-age … -
Robert Greenstein on Census' 2007 Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Data
August 26, 2008
Despite modest improvements in overall median income and health insurance coverage, the new Census data are disquieting. Though 2007 was the sixth (and likely the final) year of an economic expansion, 4.4 million more Americans were poor, the median income of non-elderly households was $1,100 lower, and nearly 6 million more Americans were uninsured than in 2001 — … -
Medicare Changes Can Complement Health Reform
July 31, 2008
The U.S. health care system faces well known problems: 47 million people without health insurance, rapidly rising costs that consume 16 percent of the country’s economic output, and uneven quality of care. At the same time, Medicare — the federal program that provides health coverage for older Americans and … -
Statement by Edwin Park, Senior Fellow, on the President's Veto of the Medicare "Doctor Fix" Bill
July 15, 2008
Contrary to the President’s claim today, the Medicare bill would not “harm beneficiaries by taking private health plan options away from them.” It would merely slow the explosive growth in private fee-for-service plans, the most overpaid and least efficient private Medicare plans. Under the bill, overall enrollment in Medicare … -
A Balanced Approach to Restoring Fiscal Responsibility
July 9, 2008
In a recent paper, “Taking Back Our Fiscal Future,” a group of policy analysts from several Washington think tanks proposed a radical change in budget procedures related to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as a way to address budget deficits projected for future decades. They urged Congress to establish 30-year budgets, or caps, for these programs. The White House would conduct a review every five years. If it projected that expenditures would exceed the caps, the programs would face automatic cuts or related tax increases.
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Policy Points: Controversial Provision of "Doctor Fix" Bill Would Improve Medicare and Help Keep Bill Deficit-Neutral
July 7, 2008
When the Senate returns from its July 4th recess, it is expected to reconsider H.R. 6331, the Medicare “doctor fix” bill that failed to advance by one vote last month. Despite overwhelming bipartisan support in the House (which passed it by a 355-59 vote), the bill stalled in the … -
New Georgia and Florida Health Plans Unlikely to Reduce Ranks of Uninsured
July 1, 2008
This year, Georgia and Florida — states in which the percentage of people who are uninsured is well above the national average of 18 percent — have enacted legislation aimed at decreasing the number of uninsured residents. Georgia created new tax breaks for high-deductible health plans, while Florida will allow private … -
Expanding Medicaid a Less Costly Way to Cover More Low-Income Uninsured Than Expanding Private Insurance
June 26, 2008
Average medical expenditures[1] per person are lower under public programs like Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) than under private insurance, according to new research published by Health Affairs.[2] The new research, by Leighton Ku of George Washington University and Matthew Broaddus of the Center on Budget and Policy … -
Improving the Medicare Savings Programs Would Help Low-Income Seniors Cope With Higher Medical Expenses
May 20, 2008
Bipartisan Senate negotiators are crafting Medicare legislation that would avert a cut in physician payments scheduled to take effect at the end of June. This legislation could also include long-overdue improvements to the Medicare Savings Programs, which help low-income Medicare beneficiaries pay their premiums and cost-sharing. … -
GAO Study Again Confirms Health Savings Accounts Primarily Benefit High-Income Individuals
May 19, 2008
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report indicates that Health Savings Accounts are used disproportionately by affluent households. Its findings also suggest that HSAs are being used extensively as tax shelters.[1] What Are Health Savings Accounts and Why Are They Attractive as Tax Shelters? Established by the 2003 … -
Missouri's Proposed Voting Requirement Could Disenfranchise More Than 200,000 U.S. Citizens
May 15, 2008
Missouri’s legislature is considering a constitutional amendment permitting the state to require residents to provide documentary proof of their U.S. citizenship in order to vote. If implemented, it risks disenfranchising large numbers of Missouri residents who are U.S. citizens. The amendment does not specify the forms … -
Statement by Robert Greenstein on the House Supplemental Funding Bill
May 15, 2008
The House supplemental funding bill makes important changes to domestic policy by temporarily extending unemployment benefits and imposing a moratorium on harmful Medicaid regulations. The unemployment measure would provide, on a temporary basis, an extra 13 weeks of jobless benefits to workers … -
Informing the Debate About Curbing Medicare Advantage Overpayments
May 13, 2008
Bipartisan Senate negotiators are now working on the details of Medicare legislation that would avert a cut in physician payments scheduled to take effect at the end of June. This legislation could also serve as an opportunity to curb, at least to a modest extent, overpayments to private insurance plans that … -
Delaying Adminstration's Medicaid Regulations Will Not Weaken the Program's Fiscal Integrity
April 25, 2008
The Bush Administration has threatened a veto of H.R. 5613, the “Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008,” which the House passed 349-62 on April 23.[1] The bill would place a moratorium until April 1, 2009 on seven Medicaid regulations that the Administration has issued over the past year. H.R. 5613 would delay … -
Trustees Reports Show Social Security Shortfall Manageable, Medicare's Problems More Daunting
Revised April 2, 2008
The annual reports of the Social Security and Medicare trustees project the financial status of these two programs for the next 75 years. The new reports confirm that policymakers will need to take action to keep Social Security and Medicare on a sound financial footing. In evaluating the new reports, the reader should keep several … -
Statement By Robert Greenstein Executive Director On The New Reports From The Social Security And Medicare Trustees
March 25, 2008
Today’s reports demonstrate again that policymakers will need to take action to shore up Social Security and Medicare finances, with the challenge being more modest in Social Security and more daunting in Medicare. Social Security The reports show that Social Security will be able to pay full benefits until 2041 and to pay 75 … -
Administration Moves to Withdraw Key Health Services from Children and Adults with Mental Illness and Other Disabilities
Revised March 21, 2008
On August 13, 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a proposed regulation that would eliminate federal Medicaid funding for important services provided to adults and children with disabilities (particularly those with mental illness), as well as other beneficiaries. The rule would significantly limit states’ … -
Administration’s Medicaid Regulations Will Weaken Coverage, Harm States, and Strain Health Care System
Revised March 4, 2008
Over the last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a series of Medicaid regulations that could significantly affect health care at the state and local level. [1] These regulations, most of which alter longstanding Medicaid policies, do not require congressional approval. In fact, in some cases Congress … -
The President's Budget and the Medicare “Trigger”
Revised February 15, 2008
Today, the President submitted legislation to Congress that would ostensibly keep general revenues from covering more than 45 percent of overall Medicare costs in each year through at least 2013. Congress is supposed to consider the President’s proposal or a comparable proposal to avoid exceeding the 45-percent limit. Some have … -
President's Budget May Provide States With Inadequate Funding To Maintain Current SCHIP Programs
February 7, 2008
December 2007, Congress extended the expiring State Children’s Health Insurance Program through March 2009. As part of his fiscal year 2009 budget, the President proposes to reauthorize SCHIP through the end of fiscal year 2013. The budget proposal would provide an additional $19.7 billion to states for their SCHIP … -
The Dubious Priorities of the President's FY 2009 Budget
Revised February 7, 2008
The President’s budget would provide more tax cuts heavily skewed to the most well-off while cutting vital services for low- and moderate-income Americans, generating large deficits, and increasing the strain on states already confronting budget problems as a result of the economic downturn. The budget … -
Paying More for Less
January 24, 2008
Following requests for federal assistance from states seeking to expand publicly-funded health coverage for the uninsured, the Bush Administration announced its “Affordable Choices” initiative in January 2007. Affordable Choices provides no new federal funds to states. It simply permits states to divert …
