Double-digit hikes for some Medicare drug plans

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

WASHINGTON -Millions of seniors face double-digit hikes in their Medicare prescription premiums next year unless they shop for cheaper coverage, a new analysis of government data finds.

Premiums will go up an average of 10 percent among the top 10 drug plans that have signed up about 70 percent of seniors, according to an analysis of Medicare data by Avalere Health, a private research firm.

Marketing for next year's drug plans gets under way Oct. 1, and seniors will see some of the biggest changes since the Medicare prescription benefit became available in 2006. More than 17 million are enrolled in private drug plans offered through Medicare.

"People are just going to have to get on top of this and shop around," said Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere, which does research for industry and government. "Beneficiaries are really going to have to reassess their plans for next year."
http://www.aolnews.com/story/double-digit-hikes-for-some-medicare/1285114

Six weeks before the election, President Obama couldn’t fill the ballroom at the Roosevelt Hotel, despite cheap tickets on offer. And then he was met by hecklers.

Who would have thought that six weeks before a cliffhanger election, President Obama would have to reach down to the D list to fill a room to listen to him? Most of us low rollers arrived early to see President Obama up close and personal. Our tickets for the general reception at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York were only $100. Some thought the email invitation was a joke. Some bought tickets for $50 from their desperate Democratic committeeman. Some bought the same day.

Obama heckled on AIDS, gay rights at fundraiser

By MARK S. SMITH, Associated Press Writer Mark S. Smith, Associated Press Writer – Wed Sep 22, 7:48 pm ET

NEW YORK – President Barack Obama got heckled at a fundraiser Wednesday night by protesters pushing for more funding for AIDS programs and quicker action to allow gays to serve openly in the military.
Activists yelled slogans and held signs aloft reading "Obama broken promises KILL." Supporters of the president tried to drown them out with shouts of "O-bam-a! O-bam-a!"

Reminder:

Bush Has Quietly Tripled Aid to Africa

Increase in Funding to Impoverished Continent Is Viewed as Altruistic or Pragmatic

By Michael A. Fletcher

Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 31, 2006

President Bush's legacy is sure to be defined by his wielding of U.S. military power in Afghanistan and Iraq, but there is another, much softer and less-noticed effort by his administration in foreign affairs: a dramatic increase in U.S. aid to Africa.
The president has tripled direct humanitarian and development aid to the world's most impoverished continent since taking office and recently vowed to double that increased amount by 2010 -- to nearly $9 billion.

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The American Dream of Home Ownership Has Become a Nightmare

The disappearance of home equity value is a lead weight on the recovery

By Mortimer B. Zuckerman

Posted: September 23, 2010

Why has housing been such a core element in the story of American civilization?
Culturally a decent house has been a symbol of middle-class family life. Practically, it has been a secure shelter for the children, along with access to a good free education. Financially it has been regarded as a safe store of value, a shield against the vagaries of the economy, and a long-term retirement asset. Indeed, for decades, a house has been the largest asset on the balance sheet of the average American family. In recent years, it provided boatloads of money to homeowners through recourse to cash-out refinancing, in effect an equity withdrawal from their once rapidly appreciating home values.

These days the American dream of home ownership has turned into a nightmare for millions of families. They wake every day to the reality of a horrible decline in the value of the home that has meant so much to them.

Obama Administration Is 'Anti-Business': Jack Welch

Published: Thursday, 23 Sep 2010 | 9:39 AM ET

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By: Antonia Oprita
Web Producer, CNBC.com

High unemployment may last for a long time because of the sluggish economy, bad politics and advances in technology, Jack Welch, author of "Straight from the Gut," told CNBC Thursday.

Jack Welch

President Barack Obama's administration has an "anti-business" bias which manifests itself through intimidation, trade, taxes and regulation, Welch also said.

"Our businesses across the board look like 1.5-2 percent gross domestic product (advance) businesses," he said.

"The facts are in most businesses there's 20 to 25 percent excess capacity that they can fill in without adding any new people," Welch added.

Center for Free Opinions

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Double-digit hikes in their Medicare