CBO warns of sharp uptick in Social Security, Medicare spending

Federal spending on Social Security and Medicare is projected to rise dramatically over the next decade, far outpacing revenues and the economy on the whole while putting new pressure on Congress to address accelerated threats of insolvency, according to new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). 

The increase is driven by a variety of factors, including Social Security’s new cost-of-living adjustment, the rising cost of medical services under Medicare and great...

Distrust over GOP plans for Social Security, Medicare mark rocky start to budget talks

Republican leaders vowing to protect Social Security and Medicare benefits as part of the coming budget battles are running into a wall of skepticism across the aisle, lending a rocky start to the high-stakes debate over the future of federal spending.

Despite Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) promise that entitlement cuts are “off the table” in the debt-ceiling talks, House Democrats simply don’t believe that the same Republican Party that’s fought for decades to slash thos...

Biden pushes health care fixes ahead of speech

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How Medicare beneficiaries were duped by Rx reform

Thanks to the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), premiums for Medicare Part D outpatient drug plans will start to rise over the next few years. The increase will be 6 percent a year, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and private forecasts.

To make matters worse, in a few more years, the vast majority of Part D enrollees will start paying more for drugs they get from their local pharmacies than they would have paid under a s...

Sen. Sanders: Why we need to expand the Democratic majority in Congress

As we enter the final weeks of the 2022 midterm elections, poll after poll shows that the most important issues facing the American people are the economy and inflation. This should come as no surprise.

As corporate profits soar, and as billionaires become even richer, working class Americans are falling further behind. This, sadly, is not a new reality. Tragically, despite huge increases in worker productivity, real inflation adjusted wages for American workers...

Sen. Sanders: Why we need to expand the Democratic majority in Congress

As we enter the final weeks of the 2022 midterm elections, poll after poll shows that the most important issues facing the American people are the economy and inflation. This should come as no surprise.

As corporate profits soar, and as billionaires become even richer, working class Americans are falling further behind. This, sadly, is not a new reality. Tragically, despite huge increases in worker productivity, real inflation adjusted wages for American workers...

Biden to sign order to explore ways to lower prescription drug costs

President Biden will sign an executive order on Friday to explore additional ways his administration can lower prescription drug costs.

The order directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to examine how it can use its Innovation Center to lower drug costs, the White House said in a press release. The Innovation Center, which was created under the Affordable Care Act, develops and tests new payment and delivery models for Medicare and Medicaid.

After a...