Eric Laursen is an independent journalist who’s been covering political and financial news for more than a quarter-century. He’s been studying Social Security for the past 15 years, and just published a smart and exhaustive (800-page!) book called The People’s Pension: The War Against Social Security from Reagan to Obama (AK Press, Spring 2012). If [...] [read full article…]
In Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon Days, all the children are above average. In Washington, the same impossible math is being applied to Medicare’s managed-care insurance plans. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes funds to pay special bonuses to Medicare Advantage plans offering above-average quality of care. Instead, the Obama Administration is paying the bonuses to [...] [read full article…]
It’s rare to see a federal government official publicly beg reporters to get a story right, but the commissioner of the Social Security Administration seemed ready to get down on his hands and knees at a Monday press briefing. Michael Astrue was cautioning journalists not to scare the public about the meaning of the word [...] [read full article…]
[View the story "Social Security Trustees Report" on Storify] [read full article…]
There may not be a consensus in the nation’s capital on how to control the cost of health care, but businesses and their employees are not sitting around waiting for clarity. They are voting with their wallets for one approach that’s already available: Account-based health insurance plans, which offer lower premiums in exchange for high [...] [read full article…]
