shAARP Talk: Observations from AARP

Bloomberg News: Entitlement Reform Seen As Unlikely Despite Dire Report

"Spending on Medicare, the U.S. health-care program for the elderly, will reach a legal limit by 2014, requiring the next president to propose changes" to protect the program's financing." The trustee's report "'reaffirms the need to move beyond partisan politics to address the longer term reforms of our health care system and the financial challenges in retirement,' said David Sloane, senior vice president of AARP, the lobbying group for older Americans, in an e-mailed statement."

Washington Times: Times Warns Social Security Will Have To Be Raided To Reach Surplus

"While the CBO predicts the US economy will avoid a recession and that President Bush's budget projects to reach a surplus by 2012, the figures used to reach those assumptions are questionable because, "In addition to defunding the terror war and unleashing the AMT, Congress would have to reduce the explosive growth projections for Medicare and Medicaid that the president has recommended. And legislators would also have to slash inflation-adjusted annual outlays for non-security discretionary spending by more than 20 percent between now and 2013."

USA Today: Candidates Views On Health Care Reform Differ

"Health care consultant Robert Laszewski and Drew Altman, president of the non-partisan Kaiser foundation, and others describe three major areas in which the candidates and their two parties split: The Democratic candidates want to cover all or nearly all people, often by expanding government programs. McCain says worry about costs first and expand coverage later."