The Marvel That Is Medicare

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Jul 30, 2009 Medicare is where political posturing runs headlong into historical truth: It is, along with Social Security, the most successful government program that the United States has ever created. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Obesity Costs Fatten Health Care Spending

Staff / Truthdig Jul 27, 2009 New research indicates that nearly 10 percent of all U.S. medical spending goes toward treating obesity and diseases more common in the overweight, such as diabetes and heart disease. Many health economists believe it is one of the leading causes of rising health care spending. About one-third of adult Americans are obese. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Wall Street-Health Care Connection

By Mike Elk Jul 24, 2009 When I heard Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., floating the idea of a tax on health benefits in order to raise revenue for health-care reform, I was baffled; how could this be? Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Take Politics Out of Health Care Reform

Ruth Marcus / Truthdig Jul 22, 2009 If you're interested in how to get health care costs under control, the case of the F-22 offers an instructive example. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Obama on Health Care: ‘We Are Going to Get This Done’

Staff / Truthdig Jul 18, 2009 Despite rumblings from detractors on both sides of the aisle, President Barack Obama held his ground as he held forth about health care reform in a speech at the White House on Friday afternoon, declaring that he was "absolutely convinced" that substantial changes to the system will be made this year. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Health Care Reform by Medicare Expansion

Staff / Truthdig Jun 20, 2009 The best way to achieve universal health care in the U.S. is by expanding the popular and effective federal Medicare program. This restructuring would gradually extend benefits, first to the most needy and eventually to the entire population. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

Why So Scared of a Public Plan?

Joe Conason / Truthdig Jun 11, 2009 Big insurance and pharmaceutical companies are lobbying frantically (and spending millions of dollars) to foreclose the possibility of the most promising aspect of health care reform: a public insurance option. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Obama’s Fight Against the Politics of Evasion

E.J. Dionne Jr. / Truthdig Mar 23, 2009 Critics who argue that he is asking Congress to do too much are finding it far easier to talk about an overloaded system than to tell those without health insurance that they will have to wait a few more years. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

For Competition Before They Were Against It

David Sirota / Truthdig Mar 13, 2009 Republicans insist that "competition solves health care," and tell us that government programs are worse than private health insurance So, don't they welcome a private-versus-public competition, believing that the former will trump the latter? Well uh no . Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

A Bad Fix Would Be No Fix

Eugene Robinson / Truthdig Mar 13, 2009 Advice to solve the financial crisis before even thinking about health care, energy or education is either misguided or disingenuous. Fortunately, Obama seems to be ignoring all the chatter. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

The ‘Comfy Retirement’ Dream Has Exploded

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Mar 12, 2009 No Wall Street rally can obscure the scary historical prospect that most Americans now working can expect to have less income security in retirement than their parents had. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Medicare (Dis-)Advantage

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Mar 3, 2009 Obama's bid to reduce the taxpayer-funded slush fund that flows to the managed-care insurance industry through Medicare is an emphatic, if overdue, effort to turn Washington around. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )