Romney, Gingrich targeting Medicaid to pay for other programs

Boston Globe: Romney Calls For Cuts In Medicaid
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney yesterday called on Congress to take money from Medicaid, not defense, to compensate for the failure of the congressional supercommittee to agree on deficit reductions. ... By telling states that their Medicaid funding would grow at a rate relative to the consumer price index, Romney said, "You more than compensate for the $600 billion that you restored to the defense budget" (Schoenberg, 11/22).

Boston Globe: Gingrich Unveils Plan For Personal Social Security Accounts
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich laid out a plan yesterday that would give Americans the option of having a personal Social Security account ... To pay for the transition period, Gingrich would transform 185 federal programs that help the poor, including Medicaid, into block grants to the states (11/22).

Bloomberg: Gingrich Health Center And Consulting Group Paid $55 Million
Two companies founded by Newt Gingrich announced yesterday they'd grossed $55 million between 2001 and 2010, part of an effort to quiet questions about how he earned millions since he resigned from Congress in 1999.  That revenue supports the Center for Health Transformation and The Gingrich Group LLC, which have a staff of as many as 30 people, stage health-care policy events, and provide advice to clients, Nancy Desmond, the chairman and chief executive officer of the firms, said in a written statement (Benson and Lerer, 11/22).