34 States Are Directly Funneling Money To Right-Wing ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ That Lie To Women

34 States Are Directly Funneling Money To Right-Wing ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ That Lie To Women: Over half of the states in the country have laws that financially benefit front groups for the anti-abortion agenda. Is yours one of them?

PERRspectives: State-Run Exchanges Expand Blue States' Health Care Edge

PERRspectives: State-Run Exchanges Expand Blue States' Health Care Edge
"From the very beginning, one massive irony has loomed over the Obamacare debate. The elephant in the room? Health care is worst where Republicans poll best. From access to care and insurance coverage to the health of their residents, red states generally produce the most dismal rankings. And while Democratic-led states are now embracing the Affordable Care Act to bring new insurance options, lower premiums and improved customer service to blue state denizens, many GOP states are doing almost nothing at all."

North Carolina Localities Double Down On Student Voter Suppression

North Carolina Localities Double Down On Student Voter Suppression: Just hours after Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed a broad bill to massively restrict voting rights in North Carolina, localities moved to make it harder for students to vote -- moves enabled by the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling gutting the Voting Rights Act.

Did You Know the Deficit Is Shrinking? Most Americans Don't, Thanks to Shameless Deficit Hawk Propaganda | Alternet

Did You Know the Deficit Is Shrinking? Most Americans Don't, Thanks to Shameless Deficit Hawk Propaganda | Alternet
"Here are the facts: The U.S. budget deficit has been shrinking at a rapid rate over the last few months. The deficit peaked at 10.2 percent of GDP in 2009, but over the past four quarters, it has shrunk to a mere 4.2 percent of GDP. What’s more, the Congressional Budget Office predictsthat the deficit will fall to 2.1 percent of GDP in 2015.

Why such a disconnect? Unfortunately, disgraceful propaganda has left the public misinformed and confused."

7 Shocking Ways Colleges Have Trivialized Rape | Alternet

7 Shocking Ways Colleges Have Trivialized Rape | Alternet
"Universities are some of the worst offenders when it comes to undermining the problem of rape and violence against women."

Ten Years After Blackout, Power Grid Needs Work

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Rewriting The Effects Of Sequestration On Science

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Libertarian Capitalism Killed My Best Friends

Libertarian Capitalism Killed My Best Friends
"But our country is still one big libertarian experiment. And with exploding autism and cancer rates, we'll probably find out in the next generation what's out there right now that people will look back on in 30 years the same way we look back on asbestos today.
Our country needs to seriously reconsider unregulated libertarian capitalism and think about the safety of people, everyday people, as a higher priority than the profits of hustlers and giant corporations."

Reaganomics: 32 Years of Failed Policy

Almost Half Of All Americans With Individual Health Plans Will Get Subsidies Under Obamacare

Almost Half Of All Americans With Individual Health Plans Will Get Subsidies Under Obamacare:
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) has released a new study examining the effects that Obamacare’s insurance subsidies will have on Americans who currently own individual health plans — and it’s great news for consumers.

The Shocking Ways that Women's Free Speech Is Under Attack | Alternet

The Shocking Ways that Women's Free Speech Is Under Attack | Alternet
"Women who are in the least bit outspoken are subject to threats of rape, racist and sexist epithets, and deeply offensive trolling. How did it get this bad?"

GOP Obliterates Voting Rights in North Carolina | Alternet

GOP Obliterates Voting Rights in North Carolina | Alternet
"We’ve previously discussed  the extremist takeover of North Carolina and the Moral Monday protests that have arisen in response. The extreme right-wing of the GOP that now apparently controls the state has rolled back decades of progress on nearly every issue in an apparent attempt to create some sort of you’re-on-your-own utopia for the rich, powerful and well-connected. By contrast, the state’s middle class and the poor will be, well, on their own."

What Does It Take For a Rodeo Clown to Get Banned From a MO State Fair?

What Does It Take For a Rodeo Clown to Get Banned From a MO State Fair?
"Perry Beam, who took pictures of the "Obama rodeo clown" which went viral on the Internet and asked him about how he felt while watching the event. Beam compared sitting in that crowd and listening to and watching what he did to a KKK rally."

PERRspectives: Meet the Real Death Panelists

PERRspectives: Meet the Real Death Panelists
"Every single Republican Representative and Senator voted against the Affordable Care Act before President Obama signed it into law in March 2010. Since January 2011, House Republicans have voted 40 times to repeal Obamacare. Were they to succeed, the GOP wouldn't just be preventing up to 30 million more people in the U.S. from obtaining health insurance."

Arizona Republicans Already Working On 2020 Gerrymander Plan

Arizona Republicans Already Working On 2020 Gerrymander Plan: Unhappy that an independent redistricting commission devised maps it deemed too independent for the 2012 elections, Arizona Republicans are already scheming to rig the redistricting process after the 2020 elections to be more favorable to their party.

GOP War On Women Rages On - Katrina vanden Heuvel

McDonnell Burns His Benefactor

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Republican Fringe Surfaces In Electoral Off-Year

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Meet Lee Bright, The South Carolina Senate Candidate Who Thinks Lindsey Graham Is Too Liberal

Meet Lee Bright, The South Carolina Senate Candidate Who Thinks Lindsey Graham Is Too Liberal: South Carolina State Sen. Lee Bright (R) announced Tuesday that he will primary U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R). Bright is on the board of a right-wing seminary that believes women should be subservient to men in the church and in the home.

Until Last Week, The Official Policy Of One Virginia City Was To Assume All Rape Victims Were Lying

Until Last Week, The Official Policy Of One Virginia City Was To Assume All Rape Victims Were Lying: A Virginia city police department assumed that rape survivors were lying and classified their reports as "unfounded." They finally updated that policy last week when they realized it allowed a serial rapist to escape punishment.

5 Reasons Congress Should Be Deeply Ashamed About Jobs | Alternet

5 Reasons Congress Should Be Deeply Ashamed About Jobs | Alternet
"Congress' unwavering support of big business donors shows a callous disregard for the needs of the millions of Americans they're supposed to be representing. Here are five of the paralyzing consequences."

It's Time to Do Something When a Corporation Like WalMart Won't Pay a Living Wage: Or Else We All Pay | Alternet

It's Time to Do Something When a Corporation Like WalMart Won't Pay a Living Wage: Or Else We All Pay | Alternet
"A living wage isn’t just something corporations owe their workers, it’s something corporations owe America.

If a corporation won’t pay a living wage, then it shouldn’t have the right to exist. Period. End of story."

PERRspectives: Fox News Poll Shows Success of GOP's Obamacare Lies

PERRspectives: Fox News Poll Shows Success of GOP's Obamacare Lies
"Given the history of the Republicans' killer lies on health care, it's no surprise that Americans are confused about what Obamacare does, what it mean for them and the national budget. But like Politifact's 2009 Lie of the Year ("death panels") and 2010 Lie of the Year ("government takeover of healthcare"), Republican repetition of the claim that the Affordable Care Act will generate red ink doesn't make it any truer. But like the 2010 fraud that President Obama raised taxes or the sham that stimulus "made the economy worse" or any of the other myriad GOP claims which were "not intended to be a factual statement," millions of Americans deceived by Republican lies sadly it."

Obama Slams Republicans For Not Wanting 30 Million Americans to Have Healthcare

www.politicususa.com/2013/08/09/obama-slams-republicans-wanting-30-million-americans-healthcare.html
"Republicans oppose the idea of 30 million Americans being able to go see a doctor. They are against protecting people from financial ruin if they suffer a catastrophic or long term illness."

Long Search For 6-Year-Old’s Seizure Relief Ends With Medical Marijuana

Long Search For 6-Year-Old’s Seizure Relief Ends With Medical Marijuana: Charlotte Figi couldn't walk, talk, or eat on her own before medical marijuana. Now her parents see hope for a better life.

Women Lawmakers Push Paid Sick Leave In New Jersey

Women Lawmakers Push Paid Sick Leave In New Jersey: New Jersey is part of a growing movement to pass paid sick leave bills.

Congressman Tom Cotton in 1997: A Woman’s ‘Deepest Hope In Life’ Is ‘Being a Good Wife And Mother’

Congressman Tom Cotton in 1997: A Woman’s ‘Deepest Hope In Life’ Is ‘Being a Good Wife And Mother’: A woman's "greatest fear in life" is losing a man's support, Cotton wrote, and they desire nothing more than to marry "a man who worships me and whom I worship."

If a business won't pay a living wage - it shouldn't exist

Don’t buy Blue Moon!

Don’t buy Blue Moon!
"When it comes to women’s reproductive rights, both Pete and Joe Coors have (unsuccessfully) run for political office on platforms that would deny women bodily autonomy. In his bid for Senate in 2004, Pete touted his anti-abortion stance. And to prove to voters how passionate he was about limiting women’s rights, he committed to changing the Coors Company health plans so that abortion coverage would be removed. Pete also funneled money into groups like the Independent Women’s Foundation, an organization “so extreme,” that as Salon reported back in 2004, “its leaders opposed the landmark Violence Against Women Act, complaining that such federal protections encourage women to ‘distrust’ men"."

Georgia Officials Are Forcing Through Abortion Restrictions That Lawmakers Didn’t Approve

Georgia Officials Are Forcing Through Abortion Restrictions That Lawmakers Didn’t Approve: This year, Georgia lawmakers didn't have enough votes to pass a measure banning state employees from using their insurance plans to cover abortion. But now that the legislative session is over, state officials are working behind the scenes to enact that ban anyway.

Constituents Want Answers For Rep. McHenry's ACA Repeal Votes

Constituents Want Answers For Rep. McHenry's ACA Repeal Votes
"Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) wasn't expecting what he got when he held a town hall meeting this week. Instead of being cheered for his votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, he was greeted by angry constituents, including this mom, who is grieving the death of her uninsured son. I can completely relate to her grief and anger."

Texas Women’s Health Services In Sharp Decline Thanks To Successful Anti-Planned Parenthood Crusade

Texas Women’s Health Services In Sharp Decline Thanks To Successful Anti-Planned Parenthood Crusade: Low-income Texan women are getting significantly fewer family planning services and reproductive health care after the Lone Star State's successful push to de-fund Planned Parenthood. Many clinics, including those unaffiliated with Planned Parenthood, have been forced to close due to the effort.

Republican Led Texas Is a National Role Model For All The Wrong Reasons

www.politicususa.com/2013/08/07/republican-led-texas-national-role-model-wrong-reasons.html
"If Americans want a vision of a libertarian paradise Republicans are desperate to create, there are several Republican-controlled states that serve as a warning that the conservative vision for America is a nation of poor, uneducated, sick, and poverty-ridden citizens struggling to survive. Texas is a prime example because they encapsulate every devastating policy national Republicans are desperate to enact."

Rewriting Nutrition For Vulnerable Kids

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Louisiana parish claims incarcerated 14-year-old consented to be raped by a corrections officer

Louisiana parish claims incarcerated 14-year-old consented to be raped by a corrections officer
"A Louisiana parish is arguing that it should not be held liable for the rape of a 14-year-old girl in a juvenile detention center because the victim “consented” to be sexually assaulted by a 40-year-old corrections officer at the facility."

These Six States Want To Allow Health Insurers To Deny Coverage To Sick People

These Six States Want To Allow Health Insurers To Deny Coverage To Sick People:
"Officials in Texas and five other GOP-led states are refusing to oversee even Obamacare’s most basic — and popular — consumer protections and insurance market reforms. That includes the law’s ban on denying coverage or charging more because of a pre-existing condition and discriminating against women on the basis of gender."

Fox News Commentator Calls Wendy Davis An ‘Abortion Barbie’

Fox News Commentator Calls Wendy Davis An ‘Abortion Barbie’: Erick Erickson mocked the Texas lawmaker for mixing up her facts by relegating her to a doll.

The GOP really wants to recruit more ladies to help them erode women’s rights

The GOP really wants to recruit more ladies to help them erode women’s rights
"But the GOP is now committed to closing its gender gap, because, it seems, they want more smiling female faces to help push their anti-woman agenda."

The South's Widening War on Abortion Rights | Common Dreams

The South's Widening War on Abortion Rights | Common Dreams
"Date on which North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed into law a bill that requires the state's abortion clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers, despite a campaign promise that he would not sign any legislation that further restricts abortion: 7/30/2013"

Mitch McConnell Faces His Democratic And Tea Party Opponents

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Welcome to the land of GOP denial

Welcome to the land of GOP denial
"How bad has the Republican bubble become? Eric Cantor claims the deficit is growing, facts notwithstanding"

Are You Prepared to Shoot the Hostage?

Are You Prepared to Shoot the Hostage?
"Republicans on Capitol Hill have been relentless in blocking any legislation that may improve the economy and President Obama popularity.
 Since President Obama took office, Republicans have filibustered a variety of bills that would have helped the American people and economy.
 These include President Obama’s jobs bill, Nancy Pelosi’s “American Jobs, Closing of Loopholes, and Prevention of Outsourcing Act,” which would have prevented the outsourcing of jobs overseas, and the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act, which encouraged small businesses to hire by giving them temporary tax credits.
 Just last week, Republicans vowed to block President Obama’s attempts to cut corporate tax rates, something Republicans have wanted for years, because to let him do that would be to give him one small victory.
 Republicans have also worked very hard to tear down America."

In Some Deeply Red States, Figuring Out How To Enroll In Obamacare Is Like ‘Searching For A Unicorn’

In Some Deeply Red States, Figuring Out How To Enroll In Obamacare Is Like ‘Searching For A Unicorn’: Missouri's GOP-controlled legislature has enacted so many barriers to health reform, it may be too hard for uninsured residents to figure out how they can get coverage under Obamacare.

Federal Court Tosses 150,000 Women Alleging Discrimination By Wal-Mart Out Of Court

Federal Court Tosses 150,000 Women Alleging Discrimination By Wal-Mart Out Of Court: Had the judge ruled in favor of this smaller class of Walmart women, it is unlikely that his opinion would have survived contact with a Supreme Court that's grown increasingly hostile to class action lawsuits.

2 More Women Internally Probed On Public Road By Texas Troopers (Video) | Alternet

2 More Women Internally Probed On Public Road By Texas Troopers (Video) | Alternet
"What amazes me about this story, is not only is this an illegal, sexually-violating police search, but it happened on a public road, for anyone driving by to see. These two women were pulled over, for allegedly throwing a cigarette out of the car window. They were given full body  internal searches."

Why ALEC Fabricated Public School Failures (and Why We're Not Surprised)

Why ALEC Fabricated Public School Failures (and Why We're Not Surprised)
"ALEC was formed in 1973 by a group of conservative activists who came together to advance a national right wing agenda in state legislatures across the country. They do this by coordinating and connecting corporate special interests, insurance companies, lobbyists, right wing think tanks, the super rich and conservative state legislators."

What Will Come Of GOP Dysfunction?

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Supreme Court Justices' Ethics Put Into Question

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It Takes Two To Get Pregnant

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93% of the Public Wants GMO Labeling—Monsanto and the Big Agribusiness Giants Plan to Spend Millions in Propaganda to Change Our Minds | Alternet

93% of the Public Wants GMO Labeling—Monsanto and the Big Agribusiness Giants Plan to Spend Millions in Propaganda to Change Our Minds | Alternet
"Monsanto and Big Food are taking the battle for consumers’ hearts and minds to the next level. And it’s no coincidence that they’re pulling out the big guns just as the Washington State I-522 campaign to label genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food products is gaining steam."

8 Ways Privatization Has Brought Pain and Misery to American Life | Alternet

8 Ways Privatization Has Brought Pain and Misery to American Life | Alternet
"A little analysis reveals that privatization doesn't seem to work in any of the areas vital to the American public."

GOP’s Mad Health-Care Vendetta

www.consortiumnews.com/2013/08/03/gops-mad-health-care-vendetta/
"One day, Americans are going to understand just how much destructive damage to our republic has been caused by the radicalized Republican Party and the so-called “fundamentalist/religio/values” conservatives in general. One wonders just how long that is going to take. One wonders if the discovery will come too late."

Southern Leaders Opt to Exclude 2.7 Million From Health Care

Southern Leaders Opt to Exclude 2.7 Million From Health Care
"But in Rome, 27 percent of  adults under 65 are uninsured, a rate that holds true across the state. Last year, the city’s two hospitals report spending more than $80 million delivering uncompensated care, often in the emergency room, where costs run high. Taxpayers and those with health insurance will end up paying for that care through government subsidies and higher premiums, industry experts say."

Congressman Scolds Catholic Nun For Asking Government To Help The Poor

Congressman Scolds Catholic Nun For Asking Government To Help The Poor: Sister Simone Campbell, a Catholic nun, was rebuffed when she argued the government should do more to help the poor.

Sen. Bernie Sanders: Medicare For All

North Carolina Becomes the Front Line of a Brutal Corporate Assault on Education Raging in America | Alternet

North Carolina Becomes the Front Line of a Brutal Corporate Assault on Education Raging in America | Alternet
"Corporate education forces are on a destructive march throughout the U.S. While busting teachers' unions has been long been an initiative of the GOP and Christian Right, it’s also on the agendas of urban mayors like Chicago Democrat Rahm Emmanuel and New York City independent Michael Bloomberg. And it’s a large component of the regressive agenda that has sparked mass popular uprisings in Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s Wisconsin.

Enter the notoriously right-wing North Carolina General Assembly."

Why Republicans Want Jobs to Stay Anemic | Common Dreams

Why Republicans Want Jobs to Stay Anemic | Common Dreams
"First, high unemployment keeps wages down. Workers who are worried about losing their jobs settle for whatever they can get — which is why hourly earnings keep dropping. The median wage is now 4 percent lower than it was at the start of the recovery. Low wages help boost corporate profits, thereby keeping the regressives’ corporate sponsors happy."

For Profit Congresswoman Protects For Profit Colleges

Alison Grimes Storms Into Fancy Farm and Turns Mitch McConnell Into a Paranoid Old Man

www.politicususa.com/2013/08/03/alison-grimes-storms-fancy-farm-turns-mitch-mcconnell-paranoid-man.html
"Democratic senate candidate Alison Grimes blew into the Fancy Farm Picnic, stared down Mitch McConnell, and left him looking like a directionless and paranoid old man."

Study: Medicare For All Would Save Half-Trillion In First Years

Study: Medicare For All Would Save Half-Trillion In First Years
"Not that you didn't know this, of course, but it's nice to have some figures to throwback at politicians and "journalists" the next time they start explaining to us how very, very urgent it is to cut Medicare"

36 Senators Introduce Bill Prohibiting Virtually Any New Law Helping Workers

36 Senators Introduce Bill Prohibiting Virtually Any New Law Helping Workers: "Had their bill been in effect during the Twentieth Century, for example, there would likely be no nationwide minimum wage, no national ban on workplace discrimination, no national labor law and no overtime in most industries."

Congress Recesses With Little To Show For Term's Work

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New Laws Force Closure Of North Carolina Clinics

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The Party of (Nutty) Ideas

The Party of (Nutty) Ideas
"It's not your imagination. The Republican Party really does seem to have taken leave of its senses."

Nun, Church Blamed For Poverty At House Budget Hearing

Nun, Church Blamed For Poverty At House Budget Hearing
"Oh, you have to love this. The same Republicans who have declared War on The Poor instead of War on Poverty got a little damned snippy with Sister Simone Campbell when she testified against food stamp and other cuts"

Many Of The Counties Most In Need Of Obamacare Are Represented By Republicans Who Want To Repeal It

Many Of The Counties Most In Need Of Obamacare Are Represented By Republicans Who Want To Repeal It: On Friday, the House will vote for the 40th time to repeal Obamacare -- even though many of the lawmakers who will cast their vote for repeal represent some of the U.S. counties that need the health reform law the most.

GOP Meltdown: Senate Leader Faces Nightmare Election While Republicans in the House Defeat Themselves | Alternet

GOP Meltdown: Senate Leader Faces Nightmare Election While Republicans in the House Defeat Themselves | Alternet
"Kentuckians are tired of their obstructionist U.S. senator."

Mitch Ditched: McConnell Trails Democrat Alison Grimes In New Poll

www.politicususa.com/2013/08/01/mitch-ditched-mcconnell-trails-democrat-alison-grimes-poll.html
"For possibly the first time in his career, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is trailing in a poll. Democrat Alison Grimes leads McConnell 45-44%, but the poll contains a boatload of bad news for Mitch"

Remarkable Courage In Atypical Case With Sadly Typical Dynamics

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Ariel Castro: The Delsuions Of A Madman

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Victim Confronts Ariel Castro: 'Your Hell Is Just Beginning'

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Paul Ryan's Budget Rewritten By Sister Simone Campbell

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The Obama Recovery Keeps Rolling As S & P Hits 1700 and Jobless Claims Drop Again

www.politicususa.com/2013/08/01/bad-barack-hits-milestone-1700-jobless-claims-drop.html
"In July, two more economic records were set. “The first record shattered was the U.S. government posted a ‘huge’ budget surplus for June, in fact the largest for that month on record at $117 billion. The second record was the Dow, which rallied above its all-time closing high this morning after Bernake assured investors that the central bank would be keeping stimulus measures in place"."

North Dakota’s Only Abortion Clinic Is Allowed To Stay Open

North Dakota’s Only Abortion Clinic Is Allowed To Stay Open: A state judge has issued a temporary injunction against North Dakota's stringent abortion clinic restrictions. That will allow the state's sole abortion provider to stay open -- for now.

Five Pieces Of Anti-Abortion Legislation That Assume Women Are Stupid

Five Pieces Of Anti-Abortion Legislation That Assume Women Are Stupid: In states across the country, condescending measures are being codified into law.

Congressman Scolds Catholic Nun For Asking Government To Help The Poor

Congressman Scolds Catholic Nun For Asking Government To Help The Poor:What’s more, Ribble’s willingness to shirk governmental responsibility echoed the sentiment of other Republican members at the hearing who looked down on the poor.

Texas Republicans Want Wendy Davis To Pay For Special Session

Texas Republicans Want Wendy Davis To Pay For Special Session: After wasting two special sessions focusing on abortion restrictions, Texas Republicans are headed back for a third. And they want Wendy Davis to pay for the extra time it's taken them to do their jobs.

As Obamacare’s Birth Control Benefit Hits Its One-Year Anniversary, It’s Helping 27 Million Women

As Obamacare’s Birth Control Benefit Hits Its One-Year Anniversary, It’s Helping 27 Million Women: One year ago today, women began receiving contraceptive coverage at no additional cost to them.

Thanks To The Abortion Restrictions Ohio Enacted Last Month, Clinics Are Already Closing Their Doors

Thanks To The Abortion Restrictions Ohio Enacted Last Month, Clinics Are Already Closing Their Doors: The governor added his signature to the anti-choice legislation at the end of June, and it's already getting harder for Ohio women to access abortion services. Women's health advocates warn this is probably just the beginning.

5 Million Could Be Kicked Off Food Stamps Under Republican Cuts

5 Million Could Be Kicked Off Food Stamps Under Republican Cuts: Food stamp cuts proposed by Republicans could boot over 5 million people off of the program and create health problems that would cost the country more than the cuts save, according to a new analysis by the Health Impact Project.