Medicare

Despite dreary weather yesterday afternoon, the rally in support of House Resolution 72 persevered outside the Capitol building. To catch you up, Representative John Conyer Jr.’s (D-MI) resolution opposes cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

The rally was comprised of a multitudinous array of advocates and supporters, including representatives from NOW, AAUW and NWLC. The crowd was clearly passionate in their support of these vital programs. Signs boasted slogans ranging from, “Social Security: A Shared Commitment Across the Generations,” to “Hands Off My Medicare & Medicaid,” to “Women Depend on Medicare!” Additionally, various pieces of literature were circulated as to educate the participants further. Read more »

The deadline for the super-committee to produce its deficit-reduction plan is fast approaching, and cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are reportedly on the table.

Since large majorities of voters across party lines oppose cutting Social Security and Medicare benefits to reduce the deficit —including self-described “fiscally conservative” voters, as well as Democrats, Republicans, and Independents – we’re particularly concerned that policy makers might try to disguise painful benefit cuts as merely technical changes. So we’ve explained how changing the way the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is calculated for Social Security is not a more accurate way to measure inflation, but a “stealth” benefit cut that would especially hurt women. Read more »

Most of the work of the congressional super-committee (officially, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction) is going on behind closed doors – but reports are leaking out. And the word is that some members of the super-committee are targeting programs for low-income people for cuts. Today’s post focuses on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) – but Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, Social Security, Medicare, and other vital programs are also threatened, and we’ll have more to say about them as the committee continues its work. Read more »

This morning, President Obama released a deficit reduction plan that calls for $1.5 trillion in new revenues from the country’s richest individuals and corporations. Thankfully President Obama recognizes that we can’t let millionaires and billionaires enjoy tax breaks that make our deficit larger and put the burden of debt on the most vulnerable Americans. Read more »