Fix Health Care Policy

LIVE BLOG: Biden, Ryan Square Off in Vice Presidential Debate

Tonight at Centre College in Danville, KY, Vice President Joe Biden squares off against Representative Paul Ryan in their one and only encounter on the national stage. Both domestic and foreign policy topics are on the agenda for the vice presidential debate. Heritage is streaming it live and has a team of experts reacting on our Debate 2012 page.

Heritage’s policy experts are closely following every word of the vice presidential debate between Vice President Biden and Representative Paul Ryan. They are reacting instantly to the wide range of policy issues being discussed. The following is a compilation of their analysis.

Read the full reaction on The Foundry…

Tags: health care, Joe Biden, Medicare, ObamaCare, Paul Ryan, vice presidential debate

VIDEO: Pre-Presidential Debate Highlights Policy Differences

DENVER — Conservatives and progressives duked it out over policy Wednesday morning ahead of the first presidential debate of 2012 at the University of Denver.

The Heritage Foundation and The Independence Institute hosted a wide-ranging pre-presidential policy debate in Denver, featuring policy experts and commentators from both sides of the political aisle.

The economy and job creation, immigration, health care, entitlement spending, and energy were among the contentious topics or “bucket” issues discussed by the speakers.

Conservative panelists included Bill Beach, director of Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis and author of The Index of Dependence on Government. Beach was joined Mike Franc, vice president of government studies at Heritage; Amy Oliver Cooke, executive vice president and director of energy policy at The Independence Institute; and former Rep. Bob Beauprez of Colorado.

Watch the video on The Foundry…

Tags: Denver, domestic policy, government dependency, health care, Obama, ObamaCare, presidential debate, repeal the law, Romney

Medicare Roundup: Setting the Record Straight

In recent weeks, liberal politicians, editorialists, and policy analysts have vigorously attacked reform of Medicare based on a defined contribution financing. In fact, this approach to reforming Medicare has a long bipartisan tradition, going back to the 1980s and Representatives Richard Gephardt (D–MO) and David Stockman (R–MI). In fact, much of this criticism is distorted, misleading, or just plain wrong.

Here are some articles that set the record straight:
Obamacare will end Medicare as we know it (Paul Howard)

Washington Times, 9/27/12

“Both parties like to play the ‘Mediscare’ card, so the question is not whether we need to slow the rate of Medicare spending (we do), but whether the cuts are structured in a way that makes Medicare sustainable over the long run.”

Medicare Coupons, Strokes, and Heart Attacks (Bob Moffit)

National Review Online, 9/25/12

“The Medicare misinformation machine is spinning overtime. As President Ronald Reagan once said, ‘Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn’t so.’”

Boos Subside as Ryan Explains the Truth (Grace-Marie Turner)

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: bipartisan, health care, Medicare, myths, ObamaCare, premium support, round-up, setting record straight