The federal government is in a precarious state, with entire agencies and major social safety net programs under threat. This series will examine the latest policy debates, power grabs, and executive decrees — and the effects these moves will have on people everywhere. |
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| DOGE is Dead. The Damage Lives On |
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Remember the Department of Government Efficiency? DOGE was launched with the promise to cut $1 trillion from the federal budget. To say it failed to deliver on that promise would be generous. The government is not more efficient than before, it did not reduce overall spending, and it failed to uncover much in the way of government waste – probably because it neglected the parts of government, like military spending and Medicare Advantage overpayments, where fraud and waste is well-documented. | Peter Hart
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| As Open Enrollment Ends, Medicare Advantage Companies Focus on Profits Over Care |
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The open enrollment period for Medicare ends on December 7, and chaos in the privatized Medicare Advantage market has left many who depend on MA plans confused and possibly uninsured in 2026. Humana, the health insurer with the second largest number of MA beneficiaries, has shown the way forward by cutting its least profitable MA plans and making its remaining plans less generous with skinnier supplemental benefits. Many other health insurers have followed suit and changed benefits and drug formularies to encourage sicker and more costly members to drop their memberships in its MA plans. | Eileen Appelbaum
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| The Battle for FEMA Continues as the Administration Undermines Itself |
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council’s long-overdue report on the fate of the agency is scheduled for release next week. But in case you missed it, news broke recently — via a leaked draft of the report obtained by The New York Times — that the council recommended preserving the agency, rather than making it “go away,” as requested by Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. | Matt Sedlar
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The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) is an independent, nonpartisan think tank that was established to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives. |
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