Congress Plans to Tap Medicare to Pay for Healthcare Reform
by: John Hoff, Guest Columnist

The Senate Finance Committee has reported out S. 1796, its version of a health care reform bill. This was preceded, and indeed made possible, by an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that the bill would increase federal government spending by only $829 billion in 2010-2019. With new taxes and reductions in projected spending in Medicare and Medicaid, CBO said this would actually result in a net saving to the federal budget of $81 billion over this period. The bill's advocates greeted this estimate with relief, tinged with self-congratulation for having produced a bill that, in the current environment, was considered by them to be fiscally responsible.

Medicare is Afflicted with Chronic Wasting Disease, and it's Catching
by: Leslie K. Paige

All of the healthcare reform bills currently under consideration depend, to a significant degree, upon eradicating waste and abuse from Medicare in order to offset the costs of the new coverage package. Squeezing waste out of Medicare is a laudable goal and an aggressive waste eradication campaign could yield savings of $40 to $50 billion annually (conservatively), or 10 percent, a much higher percentage of fraud than exists in private healthcare systems. Unfortunately, it is a pipedream. Administrations and Congresses going back decades have tried, and failed miserably, to eliminate the waste.

The 72-Hour Bill: A Struggle to Read Over the Shoulder of Congress
by: Erica Gordon

This summer's tea parties and town hall meetings drew hundreds of thousands across the nation. Although there were many issues of concern including healthcare, cap-and-trade, and the general overspending problems in Washington, citizens were united by one common goal: to remind members of Congress that they work for the American people.