Tag Archives: Medicare

Specifics: Obamacare and HIV

by D Gregory Smith

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From Think Progress By Tara Culp-Ressler

A new brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that President Obama’s health care reform represents a significant step forward for Americans with HIV, helping to expand health insurance to many HIV-positive individuals who would be “otherwise unable to access affordable and stable health care coverage.” Representing hugely important tactics to continue addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic, several of Obamacare’s provisions will have a directly positive impact on the estimated 1.1 million Americans who live with the HIV virus:

  • Obamacare will prevent insurance companies from denying HIV-positive Americans coverage simply based on their HIV status. The health care reform law prohibits insurance companies from discriminating based on pre-existing conditions, including HIV. Before Obamacare, Americans living with HIV often struggled to find insurance companies willing to take them on — according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, just 13 percent of HIV-positive individuals were covered under private insurance in 2010.
  • Obamacare’s expansion of the Medicaid program helps low-income Americans with HIV who otherwise wouldn’t qualify for coverage. Over 40 percent of HIV-positive Americans accessed their health insurance through the Medicaid program in 2010, and expanding Medicaid even further will extend additional coverage to this community. Furthermore, under Obamacare, HIV-positive individuals do not have to have to be diagnosed with AIDS as a precursor to qualifying for Medicaid coverage. Although this was an old eligibility requirement for the program, the health reform law ensures the states that accept Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion will not have to impose this restriction on Americans living with the HIV virus.
  • HIV-positive Americans will no longer reach limits on the amount of treatment their insurance companies are willing to cover. Obamacare eliminates lifetime coverage caps and phases out annual limits, which will help all Americans with chronic conditions — including the Americans who rely on treatment for HIV infections — continue to be able to afford the care they need without reaching an arbitrary cut-off set by their insurance companies.
  • HIV testing will likely be covered under Obamacare. This year, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is expected to recommend routine HIV screenings as a part of regular preventative care, similar to a routine blood pressure test. Since the health reform law requires insurers to cover the preventive services recommended by the Preventative Services Task Force, a new standard for HIV testing could ensure that it becomes a standard part of annual check-ups. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that about 20 percentof the total population of Americans who are infected with HIV don’t know they have the virus, so regular tests that don’t incur an out-of-pocket expense could help encourage more Americans to learn their status.
  • Since Obamacare helps close the prescription drug coverage gap for Medicare beneficiaries, HIV-positive individuals will be more likely to afford their drug treatments for the virus. By closing the “donut hole,” or the gap in coverage for expensive prescription drugs under the Medicare program, Obamacare will help ensure that older Americans living with HIV aren’t unable to afford any of the 26 antiretroviral drug treatments that can be used to combat HIV infections. Twelve percent of Americans with HIV relied on Medicare for their health coverage in 2010, and that number may rise significantly as the population of HIV-positive Americans continues to age.
  • Obamacare increases resources for HIV research and prevention. The health care reform law allocates $10 billion over ten years for a new fund that focuses on prevention, wellness, and public health activities. In 2010, $30 million from that fund was awarded to the Centers for Disease Control for HIV prevention activities, including new investments in HIV surveillance and testing among high-risk populations.
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Reverse.

by D Gregory Smith

So, what is my response to Mitt Romney picking a man who conveniently disregards his church’s teaching on universal healthcare and caring for the poor, doesn’t think women need protecting, doesn’t believe in hate crimes, supports banning of same-sex adoptions, wants to gut medicare and keep allowing corporations to buy elected offices in this country?

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Rehberg Didn’t Listen As “Promised”

by D Gregory Smith

You’d think he’d be more careful in an election year- or maybe he just thinks we’re not paying attention. From The Montana Democrats:

Multimillionaire Congressman Dennis Rehberg said earlier this month that he needed to “talk to Montanans” before making a decision on his party boss’s latest attack on Medicare.

That was one week ago.  The House is expected to vote today on its plan to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicare while giving tax breaks to millionaires.
And despite his promise, Congressman Rehberg still has not met with Montanans about Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to attack Medicare.

“No matter how Congressman Rehberg votes on this bill, there can be no doubt that he’s serving his own interests, not Montana’s best interests,” said Dick.  “Congressman Rehberg can’t erase his record of voting against Medicare.  And let’s be clear:  Congressman Rehberg’s own political career is the only thing that will influence his vote on this bill.”

Congressman Rehberg has consistently supported the Ryan budget’s basic goals:  Giving huge tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, while gutting health care and education. Last July, Rehberg voted for the House’s “Cap, Cut and Balance” bill which, like the current proposal, would have forced huge cuts to Medicare in order to protect tax loopholes for millionaires.

The last time Rep. Ryan’s plan to attack Medicare came before Congress, Rehberg admitted he hadn’t read the bill just days before it came up for a vote [Rehberg conference call, 4/8/11; The Hill,4/6/11].

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Who Benefits Most From Federal Dollars? Red States

by D Gregory Smith

Some of the memes of rural Republicans include: “the government is taxing us to death,” “we’re paying for other people’s programs” “where’s the benefit to the working man person?”.  Tea Party protests against government are being held on sidewalks, streets and in parks designed, paid for, cleaned and lit  by- you guessed it- the very taxes they’re protesting. Irony is begging for attention here.

Especially- according to the following article- in the red states:

It’s no secret: The federal budget is expanding faster than tax revenues, a trend that’s been fueled by the rapid growth of entitlement programs and exacerbated by the recession. As a recent New York Times article documents, even as fiscally conservative lawmakers complain about deficit spending, their constituents don’t want to give up the Social Security checks, Medicare

benefits, and earned income tax credits that provide a safety net for the struggling middle class…

States receiving the most federal funding per tax dollar paid:

R >20 R 10–20 R 3–10 R <3 to D <3 D 3–10 D 10–...

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1. New Mexico: $2.63
2. West Virginia: $2.57
3. Mississippi: $2.47
4. District of Colombia: $2.41
5. Hawaii: $2.38
6. Alabama: $2.03
7. Alaska: $1.93
8. Montana: $1.92
9. South Carolina: $1.92
10. Maine: $1.78

Read the full article (with interactive maps) here.

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Rehberg Tax Plan Increases Deficit by $25 Billion

by D Gregory Smith
Denny Rehberg - Caricature

Millionaire Congressman Dennis Rehberg yesterday voted for a GOP tax plan that adds $25.3 billion to the federal deficit, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

Here’s what Montana Democratic Party Executive Director Ted Dick had to say about Congressman Rehberg’s latest contribution to the federal deficit:

“Congressman Dennis Rehberg has yet to explain why he voted to irresponsibly raise our debt by $25 billion and hike Medicare premiums in order to protect fellow millionaires. The fact is Dennis Rehberg increased the debt ceiling ten times during his ten years in office, all while giving himself five pay raises.”
More on how Rehberg’s vote for the House payroll-tax bill will add $25.3 billion to the deficit from The Hill:
“The CBO released a score Friday saying the GOP bill would add $25.3 billion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years under the CBO’s traditional rules for scoring legislation.””The CBO said under its rules, it could not consider the cuts to discretionary spending in its official score because they are contingent upon enactment of future legislation.”
As reported yesterday, The Associated Press said that the same Rehberg plan will increase Medicare Premiums for 1 in 4 seniors.

Rehberg Supports Raising Medicare Premiums

by D Gregory Smith

Millionaire Congressman Dennis Rehberg is throwing his support behind a controversial proposal that will raise Medicare premiums for one out of four seniors.

Denny Rehberg - Caricature

Image by DonkeyHotey via Flickr

After voting twice this year to force major cuts to Medicare, Rehberg falsely claimed he was the “only member of Montana’s delegation who has consistently voted to protect Medicare and Social Security.” [Lee Newspapers, 12/4/2011]

Now he’s poised to hurt Medicare again by supporting the controversial House payroll tax holiday.

According to the Associated Press, Rehberg’s plan will be paid for by raising Medicare premiums on seniors, a proposal that would “expand over time to include the highest-earning one-fourth of seniors.”

Both Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus have voted for alternative plans to extend the payroll tax holiday for middle class families, through higher taxes on only millionaires.

According to the Associated Press:

“Raising taxes on millionaires may be a non-starter for Republicans, but they seem to have no problem hiking Medicare premiums for retirees making a lot less.” [Associated Press, 12/13/2011]

“This couldn’t be a more clear example of Dennis Rehberg sticking up for his fellow multimillionaires while sticking it to middle-class Montana seniors,” said Ted Dick, Executive Director of the Montana Democratic Party.  “Dennis Rehberg has forgotten who he’s working for, and it’s clear whose side he’s on: the special interests who have bankrolled his 35-year career in politics.”

Rehberg recently touted the controversial House payroll tax plan after he inserted a rider in the legislation, despite his promise last year to abandon the practice of inserting irrelevant riders to bills.

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