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Some reassurance at least

08 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus is kept busy in this Sunday's gospel healing the many sick people who were brought to him. In one bright spot on a dark economic horizon, it will become vastly cheaper for most people to keep their health insurance after losing a job if a provision in the current stimulus proposal makes it into law. The billions to be poured into health care from the economic stimulus package will do little if anything about the chronic conditions behind the nation's stubbornly large ranks of uninsured, advocates for reform point out. Instead, the plan is a temporary lifeline for nearly desperate times. For those who qualify, relief would be substantial. Under a dramatic, temporary expansion of COBRA, the law that lets the unemployed keep health insurance from their old job for up to 18 months if they pay for it in full, costs would drop by about two-thirds for a year. Moreover, people who lose a job they've had for 10 years could stay on COBRA at their expense all the way to age 65, when Medicare takes over, if they don't get another job with insurance first. People 55 and over could do the same without meeting the 10-year requirement. It's so expensive for people to extend that insurance now that many don't do it. It can quickly eat up a majority of unemployment benefits. People who lose jobs at businesses that employ fewer than 20 people don't qualify for COBRA. For them, the government plan would bring many more jobless people under Medicaid's wing. The federal government would pay for that and give states much more money to run the cost-shared part of the program. In return, states taking the extra money would have to back down on some of the cuts they've made to the program recently. Altogether it's a pricey lifeline: $40 billion to subsidize health insurance for the unemployed and more than twice that to support Medicaid. Source: An article by Calvin Woodward for the Associated Press

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Government mediation on price of medications

28 Jun 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"Your abundance at the present time should supply their needs," the apostle Paul exhorts the church at Corinth in the second reading this Sunday. Applying a similar principle, the Obama administration on Monday announced that the pharmaceutical industry had pledged about $80 billion over the next decade to help close a gap in Medicare drug coverage and reduce costs for senior citizens. The move on Medicare will help correct an anomaly in the prescription drug benefit available through the government health care program for the elderly and disabled. The drug companies will pay part of the cost of brand-name drugs for lower- and middle-income older people in the "doughnut hole," a feature of the current program that requires beneficiaries to pay the entire cost of prescriptions after initial coverage is exhausted but before catastrophic coverage begins. On a parallel track, the White House and U.S. Senate Democrats have been holding private, separate talks with representatives of doctors, hospitals, insurers, and medical device manufacturers in hopes of finding specific savings those groups would be willing to produce. None of those negotiations have yet to yield an agreement. Source: An article by Jennifer Loven for the Associated Press

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Ready to end Medicare as we know it?

10 Apr 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“What did you give up for Lent?” Catholic schoolchildren and family members often ask each other in this season traditionally associated with abstinence. Republicans this week presented their 2012 budget proposal which asks the American people to accept serious cuts over the next decade to popular social programs such as Medicare. Democrats are balking. While the partisan fight over this year’s budget continues to threaten a government shutdown, the 2012 plan goes much further in suggested cuts. It would essentially end Medicare--which now pays most of the health-care bills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans--as a program that directly pays those bills. The proposed changes would convert Medicare into a "premium support" system for those currently under 55. Participants from that group would choose from an array of private insurance plans when they reach 65 and become eligible, and the government would pay about the first $15,000 in premiums. The plan's supporters say it would cut costs without sacrificing quality by introducing competition among insurers. Democrats say the GOP plan will leave millions exposed to financial risks. Seniors and people with disabilities would pay much more for Medicare under the new plan, a Congressional Budget Office analysis shows. "All this does is shift the risk and burden of rising health-care costs to seniors on Medicare," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee. "You're on your own with the insurance industry." Meanwhile, with time growing short, Congressional leaders Wednesday reported making some headway in forging a compromise on this year’s budget and averting a partial government shutdown this Friday. Rising from the dead is a central theme in this Sunday’s readings, and as the nation struggles to rise from its worst economic downturn in 80 years, President Barack Obama and Democrats warn that a government shutdown could kill off the fledgling recovery. "I do not want to see Washington politics stand in the way of America's progress," Obama said on Wednesday. Source: Articles by Naftali Bendavid for the Wall Street Journal, Michael D. Shear for the New York Times, David Espo for the Associated Press, and Julie Appleby, Mary Agnes Carey, and Laurie McGinley for Kaiser Health News

barack obama medicare democrats republicans budget chris van hollen

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Debt ceiling poker--the cards are on the table

17 Apr 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bend,” says the Palm Sunday reading from the Letter to the Philippians. The weight of the mounting national debt threatens to bring the United States to its knees, financially speaking. Fresh off last week’s budget showdown, Republicans and Democrats now face off with competing visions on how to staunch the red ink. The stakes this time are much higher--potential government default if the debt ceiling is not raised this spring. Last week Republicans led by Rep. Paul Ryan (R.-Wisc.), chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee, unveiled a plan they say would cut more than $5 trillion from the deficit over 10 years with major cuts to the nation's signature health-care programs for the elderly and the poor. Meanwhile, six senators have formed a bipartisan group to work on their own plan to rein in long-term deficits by making changes to Medicare and Medicaid and examining a fundamental overhaul of the tax system that would yield additional revenue. On Wednesday President Barack Obama jumped into the fray with his vision for deficit reduction in a speech at George Washington University. The president indicated a willingness to work with Republicans but also indicated stark differences over how to conquer trillions of dollars of debt. His goal, say observers, is to stake out a middle ground that calls for shared sacrifice. His plan calls for tax increases on higher-income Americans, closing of tax loopholes, and reductions in entitlement and defense spending. “As a country that values fairness,” said Obama in calling for an end to the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy, “wealthier individuals have traditionally born a greater share of this burden than the middle class or those less fortunate. This is not because we begrudge those who’ve done well--we rightly celebrate their success. “Rather, it is a basic reflection of our belief that those who have benefitted most from our way of life can afford to give a bit more back,” said Obama. “Moreover, this belief has not hindered the success of those at the top of the income scale, who continue to do better and better with each passing year.” While the president is likely to be criticized from all sides for his middle-ground approach, 64 senators, evenly split between the two parties, wrote to Obama last month pressing him to lead a bipartisan effort to slash the nation’s debt through spending cuts and tax increases. “I continue to believe that if we start from a bipartisan basis, we’ve got a better chance of actually getting the job done,” said Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia, a leader of the Senate bipartisan effort. Source: Articles by Jim Juhnhenn for the Associated Press and Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Hans Nichols for Bloomberg.com

taxes budget paul ryan national debt budget cuts republicans democrats medicare medicaid barack obama mark warner

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Voters care about Medicare

29 May 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In his farewell discourse to his worried disciples in this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus promises not to abandon them, vowing to send an Advocate. A Republican proposal to cut Medicare coverage has many seniors worried they will be abandoned, but advocates for the plan said it will do no such thing. Election results this week may suggest voter backlash to the plan to privatize Medicare. Democrats portrayed their victory on Tuesday to fill an open congressional seat in a Republican-leaning district in New York as a referendum on Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's medicare-reform package, and on Wednesday Democrats scheduled a vote in the Senate to force Republicans in that chamber to take a stand on the plan. Ryan defended his proposal, saying, "Trying to scare seniors and turning these things into political weapons, what that ends up doing is inflicting political paralysis." In an Internet video released on Wednesday, Ryan argued that his plan would tame galloping healthcare costs and ensure that Medicare does not run out of money in the decades to come. Gene Sperling, President Barack Obama's top economic adviser, said Democrats were open to ideas to reform Medicare but they would not support other areas of the Ryan plan that cut food assistance and healthcare for the poor. "I think the current House Republican Medicare plan is just very, very poorly designed," he said. Source: Articles by Andy Sullivan and Alister Bull for Reuters and Jennifer Steinhauer for the New York Times

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Medicare needs intensive care, argue senate rebels

03 Jul 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Saint Paul encourages his hearers in the Letter to the Romans this Sunday to focus on the spirit more than the body, reminding them that “we are not debtors to the flesh.” The body still needs tending, however, and for seniors in the U.S. Medicare is a big part of that. Medicare is also a big part of the federal budget, which itself is deeply in debt. Two U.S. senators stepped forward this week with a provocative plan that would apply strong medicine to the program. "We can't save Medicare as we know it," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), who authored the plan with Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. "We can only save Medicare if we change it.” The two Senate mavericks want to raise the age of Medicare eligibility to 67 and increase monthly premiums for millions of current beneficiaries, especially better-off seniors. Democrats reacted with criticism of the proposal, which Coburn said was designed to rescue the financially imperiled program and help the nation confront a "wall of debt." Republicans offered no sign of support either. The plan the two men outlined includes a gradual increase over the next five years in the monthly premium that seniors pay for doctor and other non-hospital services. Aides said it would translate into a monthly increase of $15 to $20 initially. The age of eligibility would rise gradually from 65 to 67. And for the first time better-off seniors would be charged more money for Medicare Part A, which covers hospital care. They already pay more for doctor visits as well as for prescription drug coverage and under the plan would face even higher monthly premiums. "Nobody's going to like this plan, we understand that," said Lieberman, who was the Democratic vice-presidential candidate in 2000 but is now an independent who regularly picks spots to challenge his former party. Coburn is a conservative Republican, but he defied his party orthodoxy earlier this year when he said he was willing to include higher revenues as part of any deficit-reduction deal. Sources: Articles by David Espo and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar for the Associated Press

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Betting on a charm offensive to win a grand budget bargain

17 Mar 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Saint Paul takes the ultimate gamble in this Sunday’s second reading, writing to the Philippians that in order to “gain Christ” he has “accepted the loss of all things.” President Barack Obama held meetings this week with U.S. House Republicans and Senate Democrats, gambling that for the sake of a “grand bargain” on the budget he can convince both sides to accept the loss of some of their favored programs and positions.But the 90-minute gathering with House Republicans Wednesday—part of a series of across-the-aisle sessions some are calling the “White House charm offensive”—did little to bring the two parties together. Republicans' top priority—cutting federal spending and reining in record deficits in short order—came up early in the Republican conference meeting. Oklahoma Rep. Jim Lankford asked the first question, pressing the president to explain why he wouldn't join House Republicans in their effort to balance the budget in a decade. Obama, according to several Republicans, explained that he didn't share that priority, an answer that many emphasized as they left the meeting.“He thought what was more important was that deficits fall below growth as a percentage of GDP—certainly a laudable goal, but I think the federal government, like any business or any family, needs to work towards a balanced budget," Rep. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, said afterward. Though unconvinced, Republicans did say the session helped build some trust and was a good opportunity to raise a wide spectrum of issues. Obama had told Senate Democrats in a Tuesday meeting that his budget to be released in April would align closely with their priorities but that, nonetheless, Democrats need to embrace at least some changes to unsustainable entitlement programs in order to achieve their long-term priorities. The president made the case, senators attending the luncheon said, to protect entitlements for future generations—a key Democratic priority in negotiations with Republicans.Obama's arguement that Social Security and Medicare—big drivers of federal spending—wouldn’t survive without some changes to save money seemed to be opening the door a crack toward a way forward: If the White House is seen as willing to put entitlements on the table, some Republicans may reconsider their staunch opposition to new revenue.Obama’s blunt talk on entitlements doesn’t mean that Senate Democrats are on board. Several members in the meeting spoke up about the concerns that changes to the programs would be part of a deal, attendees said. “He said he hoped we can reach some sort of grand bargain,” said Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa. “Of course some of us responded by saying, ‘Yes, but what is in that grand bargain?’ We don’t want to start whacking away at Social Security or Medicare.”Homily hint: Americans are frustrated by their elected officials' seeming inability to work across party lines to solve the nation’s most pressing problems. Perhaps this Sunday’s gospel, which challenges the righteous to first examine their own shortcomings before condemning another’s, offers some insights that could be applied to those who seem quick to condemn their political opponents. Sources: Articles by Deirdre Walsh and Rachel Streitfeld for CNN and Ginger Gibson for Politico

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