In Case You Missed It...

This week on Off the Charts, we focused on the federal budget, health, state budgets, and housing.

• On the federal budget, Chad Stone demonstrated how a report calling for sharp, immediate cuts in federal spending relies on irrelevant information, and Jim Horney explained that the projected increase in deficits under the President’s budget reflects proposed tax cuts, not spending increases. We also featured a new Center report from Robert Greenstein that presents a framework for reducing the deficit.
• On health, Paul Van de Water explained why the Ryan-Rivlin plan would harm Medicare, January Angeles elaborated on the problems in a recent Republican report on state Medicaid costs, and Edwin Park detailed the consequences of turning Medicaid into a block grant. And, in light of the one-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, Shannon Spillane discussed five important facets of the health reform law.
• On state budgets, Liz McNichol emphasized the need to revisit tax breaks for seniors, and Erica Williams highlighted the important takeaways from our recent update of governors’ budgets.
• On housing, Will Fischer described a proposal in the President’s budget to help preserve public housing developments.

In other news, the Center released reports on deficit reduction, the Ryan-Rivlin plan’s effect on Medicare and Medicaid, Rhode Island’s global Medicaid waiver, governors’ budgets, and new funding for some public housing developments, as well as a podcast on block-granting Medicaid.