Actually, We Need More Medicare

Nelson and Lieberman reject 'Br'er Rabbit compromise'

(NEWSER) - Joe Lieberman rejected the Democrats’ Medicare buy-in compromise mostly because “his objective really is to make liberals suffer,” writes Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com. Lieberman knew that though they might have wailed and moaned, liberals would have been happy with the Medicare expansion. “It was a br’er rabbit compromise—but do please Senart’er—don’t fling me in dat brier-patch.” More»

Gives Reid new a new obstacle on path to passing health bill

(NEWSER) - Joe Lieberman will stand in the way of the Senate health reform bill if it includes the Medicare buy-in provision for people over 55, he told Harry Reid yesterday. Lieberman delivered the bad news face-to-face after he and fellow centrist Ben Nelson went on Face the Nation to bash the buy-in, which Senate Democrats turned to as a compromise, after the same centrists said they'd stonewall a public option, Politico reports. More»

This could be the last chance to rein in Medicare costs

(NEWSER) - Centrist senators worried about the fiscal burden of the health care bill should be asking themselves what will happen if it doesn't pass, writes Paul Krugman. The legislation almost certainly represents the last chance to rein in Medicare costs, the main cause of projected future deficits, before they cause a budget catastrophe, Krugman writes in the New York Times. More»

(NEWSER) - The mob-like scenes at recent town halls are "something new and ugly," writes Paul Krugman, who notes that 2005's protests against Social Security privatization never saw baying crowds and congressmen hanged in effigy. The New York Times columnist is unconvinced that the mobs are in the pay of well-organized conservative groups. Rather, they're genuinely angry—and are nursing "the same cultural and racial anxiety that's behind the birther movement." More»

Fraud-fighters finding it hard to stay ahead of shell companies

(NEWSER) - Fraudsters using complicated networks of ghost companies are sucking hundreds of millions of dollars out of Medicare every year and it's a bit like taking candy from a baby, a Reuters investigation finds. The probe—which officials say will likely lead to a criminal investigation of the firms involved—found that the "companies" of many Medicare providers are registered to nonexistent addresses, or the addresses of abandoned buildings. The thieves use stolen doctor and patient data to bill Medicare for as much money as possible in a short time. More»