RSS 2.0 Follow Us!

Related Posts

Video: The Democrats’ Blatant Hypocrisy on Obama Medicare Cuts
  • I posted over the weekend on the President’s discovery of an additional $313B in Medicare “savings” that he proposes to help offset the cost of his health reform agenda. I found it particularly puzzling that the AARP has been silent on all this, given that the President has now proposed a total of over $600B in cuts to Medicare and/or Medicaid over the next 10 years. But apparently the AARP [...]
    • Video: Obama Attacks His Own Healthcare Plan
  • The White House announced over the weekend that they have found an additional $313B in Medicare/Medicaid “savings” (i.e. cuts) that can be used to help offset the costs of the President’s healthcare reform plan. This is on top of an additional $309B in cuts that had previously been proposed as part of the President’s budget for FY 2010. If this is sounding familiar, I put up a post yesterday with [...]
    • Samuelson on Budget Realities
  • One of the few sane voices at Newsweek offers some insight into federal deficits: [F]rom 2011 to 2020, the administration projects total federal spending of $45.8 trillion against taxes and receipts of $37.3 trillion…The message: there’s a huge mismatch between Americans’ desire for high government services and low taxes. Second, almost $20 trillion of the $45.8 trillion of spending involves three programs—Social Security, Medicare (health insurance for those 65 and over), and Medicaid [...]
    • Flashback: Obama Campaign Ad Attacks McCain on Proposed Medicare Cuts (Video)
  • One year ago we were in the final stages of an election campaign the outcome of which would shape history. As we all know, Barack Obama ultimately beat John McCain by a wide margin, sweeping into office on a platform of hope and change, and declaring a new era of transparency and responsible government. Flash forward to the present, where the President has staked the bulk of his political capital, [...]
    • Obama in 2007 (Audio): My Healthcare Plan is for a “Transitional System”
  • While researching President Obama’s past opposition to an individual mandate for health insurance, I came across an interesting audio clip from 2007. Then Senator Obama was speaking to Laura Knoy of New Hampshire Public Radio. Click the link below to listen: Obama on NH NPR – Clip 1 Obama: Senator Clinton’s plan for healthcare, my plan, John Edward’s plan are all similar in the sense that we set up a [...]
    • 8 Lies in the President’s Healthcare Reform Proposal
  • Most of these are not new, but if the White House is going to use the media spotlight on healthcare reform this week to repeat many of the same lies and half-truths, then it is incumbent on someone to point them out once again. 8. Small business taxes will not go up to pay for the cost of the uninsured. It depends on what the definition of a small business is. [...]
    • Politico Fact Check Misinterprets Rep. Ryan
  • Politico put up a fact check piece on yesterday’s health care summit. It’s pretty fair overall, taking aim at both sides for fibs and exaggerations. I was a little dumbstruck by this last one though: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) claimed that under the Democrats’ plan, millions of seniors will lose their Medicare Advantage plans. Not quite. According to health policy experts, it’s fair to say that if the Democrats have [...]
    • LA Times Calls Republicans “Irrational” for Opposing Socialist Dr. Berwick
  • What else do you really expect from the LA Times: Only in the topsy-turvy world in which end-of-life counseling services are called “death panels” could a doctor who champions patients’ rights and better medical treatment be labeled a threat to healthcare consumers. Only in the LA Times is a praising a healthcare system that leads to demonstrably higher death rates a sign of fitness to manage the American health sector. [...]
    • Uninsured Americans: 30 Million is Still a Marketing Figure
  • Megan McArdle does the math and finds that even the new number the President trotted out Wednesday night is bogus: The actual number of the uninsured, according to the census, is 46.3 million.  Of those, 36.8 million were natives of the US or naturalized citizens.  There is no “alternate figure” for the number of American citizens that includes legal residents.  Legally resident immigrants are fine people.  But they are, definitionally, [...]

    • Is the AARP in the Tank for ObamaCare?

    Morgen on June 13, 2009 at 3:34 pm

    The White House announced today that they have somehow found $313B in savings over 10 years to help offset the costs of the President’s healthcare reform agenda. This is on top of the $635B “down payment” on health reform which was already included in the 2010 budget, split about evenly between “revenue enhancements” and program cuts. (A good breakdown of the total is available here.)

    What I find most interesting about the announcement today is that the “savings” detailed by the President are focused entirely within the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Let me translate all this using less Orwellian terms – the Administration is proposing $313B in CUTS to the Medicare and Medicaid programs over the next 10 years! And this is on top of another $300B in CUTS which had already been proposed! Just imagine the uproar from the other side of the aisle had a Republican President or Congress announced over $600B in cuts to Medicare/Medicaid – or even hinted at it. Medicare and Medicaid are the sacred cows of liberalism – the supposedly untouchable “third rail” of U.S. politics.

    Which led me to wonder – where exactly does the AARP stand on all of this? Historically, you could always count on a massive PR and advertising blitz from the AARP for any proposed legislation which might negatively impact their constituency. In retrospect, it actually seems a little odd that they seemingly have not weighed in on the current discussion over healthcare reform.

    Well, it turns out they have. In 2007, the AARP joined forces with the Service Employee International Union (SEIU), led by Andy Stern, to launch a $60+ million promotional campaign called “Divided We Fail” to advance an agenda within their membership base centered around universal healthcare. And while the AARP ostensibly claims to be non-partisan, the SEIU makes no such pretense. In fact they are solidly behind the President’s health reform plans including the public insurance “option”.

    Which raises the question whether the underlying purpose of the Divided We Fail campaign might be something a little more nefarious. Has the AARP engaged in a proactive campaign to reign in any opposition on the part of seniors to the Democrats’ plans for healthcare reform? Do they really support the Administration’s planned expansion of coverage for the uninsured, even at the direct expense of the seniors they claim to represent?

    Last September the AARP sponsored a research report entitled: “Millions of Low-Income Adults Can’t Get Medicaid; So What’s the Answer?“. I’m not exactly sure when or why the AARP entered the debate over government entitlement programs for adults of all ages. But thanks to the President’s announcement today we now know the answer to their question. The Administration is indisputably planning on expanding health insurance coverage through substantial cuts in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Cuts that, no matter the spin coming out of Washington about productivity and efficiency, can only mean that healthcare products and services will have to be rationed amongst an even larger pool of beneficiaries.

    Here’s my question. Seniors, are you going to just stand by and let the AARP represent your position on this?

    Category: Health & Education, Politics |

    11 Comments

    1. bwax

      I repeatedly responded to AARP arguing against their positions regarding the supposed ‘Divided we Fail’ campaign. My responses to them were never answered.

      AARP has been a strong supporter of the democrats for years, so this is not new!

      June 13, 2009 @ 3:55 pm
    2. Matt

      If I remember correctly, wasn’t the AARP sued in the 90′s for discrimination? I think they fired some elderly workers, and they sued for discrimination. I think that people that belong to liberal-leaning organizations need to realize that in many cases, the stance of said organizations may not benefit them!

      June 13, 2009 @ 4:09 pm
    3. Arizona Dave

      The AARP has bombarded us for years with their ideas on Universal Healthcare. Have you ever tried to contact them with an opposing opinion? I have and you get stonewalled. There can be no opposing opinions. The only reason I maintain our AARP membership is for the insurance.

      My wife is from Holland and is quite familiar with state run health insurance. You are assigned a doctor. You cannot get certain types of treatment until you reach a pre-determined age. We have a 38 year old cousin with high blood pressure and he has not been given any medications for it, instead he was told to “take it easy”. His sister cannot get a Pap smear until she is 30 although their is a history of uterine cancer in her family. Many Britans go to Holland to seek medical aid from doctors during their private practice hours as the health system in Britan is worse than Holland’s. Why do all the Canadians come to the US seeking treatment? It’s simple, their system stinks!

      June 14, 2009 @ 9:10 am
    4. chesterar

      Remove “Is” and the question mark from your title and you’ve got it. It’s been that way for a very long time (Left-leaning, I mean).

      June 15, 2009 @ 12:16 pm
    5. Chris

      When is AARP NOT in the tank for continual erosions of our freedoms?

      June 16, 2009 @ 9:25 am
    6. robin fletcher

      I am shocked that an organization, that is suppose to take care of the elderly, would support a program that will eventally take a young person before an elderly one for no other reason except for the age factor. I have dropped my membership and encourage all to do that.

      June 24, 2009 @ 1:20 pm
    7. Tyler

      If aarp is teaming up with the seiu/acorn you know whose side there on. Thats just the way it is with liberals, ideology trumps everything. Why did eighty percent of jews vote for obama who is anti israel. when george bush tried to privatize medicaid it wouldn’t of cut anyone out of getting care. But there was that nazi organization aarp demanding it be stopped. Im not surprised the elderly are unaware of this plot to kill them. Most americans don’t have a clue! They are idiots!

      July 13, 2009 @ 5:24 pm
    8. Madeleine Levine

      AARP backs Government programs; they are afraid of losing their tax-exempt status.
      AARP is only interested in selling insurance; AARP President makes more than President of U.S.
      AARP is only interested in making money off seniors; they will not confront Obama.
      Where do you go?
      http://www.seniors league; phone 202-776-0640 might be an answer.

      July 16, 2009 @ 3:05 pm
    9. roberto

      Dr Death health plan will establish a commission to decide whether you live or die, it’s no wonder the democrats exempted themselves from their own government health plan.

      July 18, 2009 @ 9:13 pm
    10. Pam

      I am not going to re- subscrib to my AARP membership. I have suscribed to the NRA. This we prvide me with a lot more ” insurance “

      August 9, 2009 @ 8:53 am
    11. Louis

      I also contacted AARP after seeing AARP spokesman,David Certner,on TV endorsing the Obama Healthcare Plan. I wish AARP had polled it’s members about this…I certainly wasn’t asked my opinion as I’m 100% against the current proposal.

      I’m cancelling my membership as a result of AARP’s endorsement. They’re no longer are representing the interests of their membership.

      August 12, 2009 @ 7:15 am

    Leave a reply

    1. You will post the following soon.
      Go ahead and start typing.

    More articles

    Previous:
    Next: