90.9 WBUR - Boston's NPR news station
Top Stories:
PLEDGE NOW
Thursday, January 20, 2011

House GOP Shifts Focus From ‘Repeal’ To ‘Replace’

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio walks through Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill in Washington, after the vote passed to repeal the health care bill. (AP)

House Republicans voted yesterday in favor of a bill to repeal President Obama’s healthcare reform law by a vote of 245 to 189. Since Senate Democrats and the president are both firmly against repeal, the repeal bill is unlikely to become law.

Now GOP leaders move onto phase two of their strategy: replace the parts of the healthcare act they dislike the most. Amy Goldstein, national social policy reporter for the Washington Post, tells us what Republicans hope to strip out of the law first, and their plans to enact their own healthcare legislation.

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

  • Private Sector Frog

    This is from Paul Ryan’s website about his suggested reform of medicare:

    http://paulryan.house.gov/Issues/Issue/?IssueID=9969

    “For younger people, Medicare is reformed to work like the health care plan Members of Congress now enjoy. For those currently under 55—as they become Medicare-eligible—it creates a Medicare payment, initially averaging $11,000, to be used to purchase a Medicare certified plan. The payment is adjusted to reflect the impact of medical inflation, and pegged to income, with low-income individuals receiving greater support. The plan also provides risk adjustment mechanisms, allowing those with greater medical needs receive a higher payment…”

    That doesn’t really sound like what you described on the show.

With Sponsorship from:
Accelerating the pace of engineering and science
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Donzell Minz is pictured at Curt's Cafe in Chicago. (Jeremy Hobson/Here & Now)

We first spoke with Donzell Mintz when he was a teenager, before he was sentenced to three years behind bars. Fresh out of prison, he’s working at a cafe that trains young ex-offenders.

17 Comments | more »
Monday, June 17, 2013
Joan Parker sitting on her late husband's desk. Behind Joan is a teddy bear that her husband, author Robert Parker, had since childhood. (Anna Miller/Here & Now)

Joan Parker, longtime philanthropist and the widow of mystery writer Robert B. Parker, died last Tuesday. Joan was the inspiration for the character loved by Robert’s protagonist, detective Spenser.

4 Comments | more »
Monday, June 17, 2013
Cancer patient Lynne Lobel, 47, watches a television program as she gets chemotherapy treatment at Nevada Cancer Institute in Las Vegas, September 2005. (Jae C. Hong/AP)

The sequester budget cuts mean lower reimbursements for chemotherapy drugs for Medicare patients — a change that’s forcing some cancer clinics to turn away patients, in order to make ends meet.

4 Comments | more »