#Health Care

Last week two committees in the House of Representatives voted to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). This is an alarming attempt to undo a key cost-saving enforcement mechanism without putting anything else in its place. You may recall…

The nation’s largest private health insurer is launching a plan to move away from the traditional fee-for-service system that many analysts say bears much of the blame for excessive medical spending. (more…)

Bipartisan efforts to reform Medicare were elevated this week by the release of a proposal from Senate Budget Committee member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). Their proposal would convert Medicare into a “premium support”…

The demise of the deficit reduction super committee left many people wondering whether the polarized atmosphere in Washington has made it impossible for Republicans and Democrats to reach agreement on the thorniest issues that must be resolved to achieve a…

Will Congress be able to approve a plan this year to significantly reduce deficits over the coming decade? Just in time for Halloween last week, Concord Coalition Chief Economist Diane Lim Rogers wrote in a Tax Notes column about the…

As elected officials weighed reforms that could put the federal budget on a sustainable track, the AARP last week reiterated its opposition to even including Social Security and Medicare in the discussion. The organization’s recent explanations for what appears to…

The new congressional committee on deficit reduction continues its work this week amid concerns that some elected officials have tried to narrow its options.In a recent guest column in the Ames Tribune in Iowa, Concord Coalition officials lament that both…

President Obama offered his deficit-reduction recommendations to the congressional super committee on Monday, urging the panel to find both spending cuts and additional tax revenue to far exceed its assigned goal.Obama put Medicare and Medicaid on the negotiating table, giving…