In 2003 Congress passed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, which later became known as Medicare Part D. Remember that? A lot of wonks point to it as a critical piece of legislation that helped Bush win his re-election in 2004. Of course the law didn’t go into effect until 2006 and for […]
The wingers have been going on about a report in USA Today last week showing a record increase in the number of people receiving federal aid: Government anti-poverty programs that have grown to meet the needs of recession victims now serve a record one in six Americans and are continuing to expand. More than 50 […]
New numbers came out today and one of them shows that inflation rose 2.7% last year. That’s pretty bad when people aren’t making us much money and we still have a big unemployment problem, but the problem doesn’t stop there. Social Security recipients didn’t get a raise this year. The calculated that in June, so […]
We heard time and time again how Republicans believed everything should be between you and your doctor when it comes to healthcare. They don’t want the government in the decision making and they believe the information should be confidential. Well there was a bill passed under Bush and the Republican controlled Congress that lead to […]
Health care reform is being totally screwed up by the party that has pushed for it for years – the Democrats. Here’s two very interesting stories that go along with the cost containment issues I have been talking about this week. First up we have some Democrats, along with the White House and Pharma working […]
Next year seniors won’t see an increase in their monthly Social Security checks. The increase, which is determined by cost of living up to June of the previous year, was determined to not be necessary by the government. A lot of people depend on these checks, and as well depend on Medicare. Currently Medicare has […]
Anyone shocked by this? Even as drug makers promise to support Washington’s health care overhaul by shaving $8 billion a year off the nation’s drug costs after the legislation takes effect, the industry has been raising its prices at the fastest rate in years. In the last year, the industry has raised the wholesale prices […]
The AP has found that water for approximatley 41 million Americans is tainted with drugs: A vast array of pharmaceuticals – including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones – have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows. To be sure, the concentrations of […]
hese are the “legal” drug dealers that Congress is now taking on: Once Democrats seized the committee chairmanships on Capitol Hill, the big drug companies sharply aligned with Republicans knew a period of reckoning was coming. Now it has begun. The Democrats’ investigations range from the drug-approval process to television advertising to the bilking of […]
Why do they hate our seniors? The Senate blocked legislation on Wednesday that would let the government negotiate Medicare drug prices. Democrats couldn’t muster the 60 votes needed to bring the bill up for a vote. Under the Medicare drug benefit, private insurance plans negotiate with drug makers over the price of medicine for their […]