OSHA Grants Brief Reprieve on Silica Enforcement

On September 20, 2017, OSHA's Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary issued a memorandum to Regional Administrators on the new Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction Standard , which becomes effective . In this memo, OSHA states that during the first 30 days that the standard is effective, the Agency will evaluate employers' good faith efforts to comply with the new standard, and will "render compliance assistance and outreach" to employers.

Medicaid-expansion states to lose $180 billion under Cassidy-Graham plan, new report says

Senate Republicans are trying to revive the momentum to overhaul the Affordable Care Act with the Cassidy-Graham proposal. Here are five things to know about the plan and the rush to pass it.

Rally will press Stefanik to oppose Cassidy-Graham bill

A rally is planned Friday in Plattsburgh to press Rep. Elise Stefanik to oppose the Cassidy-Graham health-care bill if it comes to the House for a vote. Participants will gather at 5 p.m. at Trinity Park in downtown Plattsburgh and march to Stefanik's office at 23 Durkee St. The action is expected to draw community members, health-care providers, elected officials and clergy, according to Joe Seeman, one of the organizers.

GOP Pushing Obamacare Repeal; Graham-Cassidy Would Hit Connecticut Hard

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday he is "deeply concerned" Senate Republicans will rush ahead next week with legislation replacing the Affordable Care Act with an alternative plan that will do far greater harm to the nation's health care system than earlier GOP proposals. "President Trump said the original House version was 'mean' but this measure is the king of mean - on a scale of 1 to 10 it is off the charts," the Connecticut Democrat said.

These groups not happy with latest Obamacare repeal effort

Even as Republicans scramble to find the votes to pass their latest attempt to repeal Obamacare, the list of advocacy and industry groups opposed to the bill continues to grow. On Wednesday, the two major health insurance industry associations voiced their concerns about the legislation, which would jettison several major Obamacare provisions and curtail federal support of Medicaid.

Basically The Entire Health Care System Hates The New Obamacare Repeal Bill

The latest Senate Republican attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act and enact sweeping reforms to the American health care system has generated intense opposition from the very health care providers, patient groups and insurance companies that would be forced to adapt to the changes envisioned by the legislation. The bill, sponsored by GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, would undo most of the Affordable Care Act and radically refashion the Medicaid program by shrinking the budgets for federal health care programs and turning over the remaining money to states, which would have to devise their own new health care systems.

With CBO sidelined, key senator turns to Trump administration’s …

A key Republican senator, who is likely to decide the fate of her party's latest effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act and phase-out Medicaid , says she will rely on a Trump administration office with a history of producing cooked figures in order to determine whether to back the bill. Earlier this week, the Congressional Budget Office announced that, due to the rushed process Senate Republicans are using to try to pass the latest version of Trumpcare, it will not be able to fully evaluate the bill until after a vote is expected next week.

Attorney General Sessions steps up anti-a sanctuarya rhetoric after setbacks

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions stepped up the Trump administration's critique of so-called sanctuary cities on Tuesday, saying local and state policies to limit cooperation with immigration enforcement are a criminal's "best friend." Sessions' remarks, at a gathering of law enforcement authorities in Portland, Oregon, came days after repudiation of his stance against the sanctuary movement in separate actions by a federal judge in Chicago and the California legislature.

As clock ticks, Republicans try to move ahead on Obamacare repeal

The Trump administration and top U.S. Senate Republicans pushed on Tuesday for action on a bill to dismantle Obamacare, but time was running out and they were still hunting for the votes needed to pass their latest attempt to gut the 2010 healthcare law. Vice President Mike Pence lunched with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill to urge them to approve the legislation introduced last week by Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy.

The Future Of Partisan Gerrymandering Hinges On A Supreme Court Case

In a televised interview with the McClatchy News Service on June 25, 1969, Earl Warren, the legendary 14th chief justice of the United States, was asked to single out the most important case of his tenure on the bench, which began in 1953. Warren, who had retired from the high tribunal just two days earlier, could have named any number of high-profile rulings: Brown v.

Reinsurance approval costly for Minnesota

Minnesota is at risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for the state's health care program for the working poor as it pursues a waiver aimed at lowering premiums for people buying insurance through the state exchange. Gov. Mark Dayton wrote Tuesday to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price urging President Donald Trump's administration to "reverse this very destructive financial penalty" to MinnesotaCare, the state's program that covers those who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but can't afford private coverage.

Senate leader praises revived GOP health law repeal drive – Tue, 19 Sep 2017 PST

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday praised the revived Republican effort to uproot former President Barack Obama's health care law, giving a public boost to a proposal that's given new life to a drive that seemed all but dead weeks ago. McConnell, R-Ky., said the bill would let states "implement better health care ideas by taking more decision-making power out of Washington" and letting local officials decide what "works better in their own particular states."

It’s Alive!!! How the repeal and replacement of Obamacare could still happen

The last time anyone paid much attention to the Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act was when it was failing on the Senate floor in late July. That was the end of the end, we were told.