Matthew Cunningham-Cook

United States

Reporter and Writer at The Lever

journalist, private equity knower. organizing strategist with some great unions. rts/likes ≠ endorsements (802) 490-5859 m.cunninghamcook at gmail

Articles

Republicans Propose Medicaid Cuts

3 weeks ago | breaddaily.substack.com | Matthew Cunningham-Cook

The Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives has unveiled a plan to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid and remove millions of Americans from the health insurance program. In addition to providing health care coverage for more than 70 million people, Medicaid also supports jobs for millions of workers. Teachers in Northampton, Massachusetts have started a “work-to-rule” campaign to protest school budget cuts.
Elon Musk and His DOGE Bro Have Cashed In on Americans' Retirement Savings

1 month ago | rollingstone.com | Matthew Cunningham-Cook

May 3, 2025 Elon Musk, right, and Antonio Gracias speak during a town hall on March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis.
Elon Musk and His DOGE Bro Have Cashed In on Americans' Retirement Savings

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Matthew Cunningham-Cook

1 day agoHouse Republicans are planning to include several of President Trump’s campaign promises in the first draft of the bill, which they hope to release soon. It was easy to miss, but last weekend President Trump floated a fundamental rewrite of the American tax code. In a social media post, and again in …
Announcing The Daily Bread!

1 month ago | breaddaily.substack.com | Matthew Cunningham-Cook

Welcome to the Daily Bread, a new dispatch for the labor movement. This moment in history presents us with world-historic challenges: right-wing control of Washington, attacks on government workers and their right to a union, threats to political speech, economic uncertainty, and an onslaught of anti-immigrant actions. It also presents us with an opportunity. Workers across different regions and industries as well as ideologies and identities can beat back these threats.
Mega-Financiers Are Flocking to Trump

May 30, 2024 | americanprospect.bluelena.io | Ryan Cooper |Gabrielle Gurley |Matthew Cunningham-Cook

Twenty-four years ago, when then-President Bill Clinton asked Congress to establish permanent normal trade relations with China, and Congress did just that, the chief argument that Clinton and the bill’s proponents made was that bringing China into the world capitalist system was sure to push the country in a democratic direction. Capitalism and democracy, they repeatedly averred, were inextricably linked.
Medicare Advantage’s $64 Billion Supplemental Benefits Slush Fund

May 29, 2024 | prospect.org | Matthew Cunningham-Cook

This article is a co-publication with HEALTH CARE un-covered, a website about the health insurance industry. It is available at wendellpotter.substack.com. In mid-March, the Medicare Payments Advisory Commission (MedPAC), which advises Congress on Medicare policy, made a bombshell disclosure in its annual Medicare report.
Where Does Medicare Go From Here: Profit-Driven Chaos or Patient-Centered Community?

Apr 18, 2024 | prospect.org | Matthew Cunningham-Cook

This article is a co-publication with HEALTH CARE un-covered, a website about the health insurance industry. It is available at wendellpotter.substack.com. Medicare, the country’s largest and arguably most successful health care program, is under duress, weakened by decades of relentless efforts by insurance companies to privatize it.
Where Does Medicare Go From Here: Profit-Driven Chaos or Patient-Centered Community?

Apr 17, 2024 | wendellpotter.substack.com | Matthew Cunningham-Cook

Medicare, the country’s largest and arguably most successful health care program, is under duress, weakened by decades of relentless efforts by insurance companies to privatize it. A rapidly growing Medicare Advantage market — now 52% of Medicare beneficiaries, up from 37% in 2018 — controlled by some of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world, threatens to both drain the trust fund and eliminate Medicare’s most important and controversial component: its ability to set prices.
Where Does Medicare Go From Here: Profit-Driven Chaos or Patient-Centered Community?

Apr 17, 2024 | wendellpotter.substack.com | Matthew Cunningham-Cook

Medicare, the country’s largest and arguably most successful health care program, is under duress, weakened by decades of relentless efforts by insurance companies to privatize it. A rapidly growing Medicare Advantage market — now 52% of Medicare beneficiaries, up from 37% in 2018 — controlled by some of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world, threatens to both drain the trust fund and eliminate Medicare’s most important and controversial component: its ability to set prices.
Financial Irregularities Surround House Candidate Bhavini Patel

Apr 11, 2024 | prospect.org | Matthew Cunningham-Cook

As first-term Congresswoman Summer Lee (D-PA) faces an onslaught of far-right cash attacking her in her April 23 primary, a Prospect investigation has found that the main beneficiary of that spending, local official and primary opponent Bhavini Patel, failed to disclose a substantial gift she received, in violation of campaign finance laws.