Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Calling it an "exciting day," Gov. Matt Bevin on Friday said federal authorities have given Kentucky broad power to reshape its Medicaid program, making it the first state in the nation to win such approval under rules that allow states to include work requirements for some recipients. "I am excited by the fact that Kentucky will now lead the nation," Bevin said at a news conference at the Capitol Rotunda.
In a major policy shift that could affect millions of low-income people, the Trump administration said Thursday it is offering a path for states that want to seek work requirements on Medicaid recipients. Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said work and community involvement can make a positive difference in people's lives and in their health.
Robert Francis O'Rourke Seven Texas lawmakers leaving Congress means a younger, more diverse delegation Periscope shines during House blackout Lawmakers form Term Limits Caucus MORE Lloyd Alton Doggett Pelosi denounces GOP tax reform as 'armageddon' Live coverage: Day three of the Ways and Means GOP tax bill markup Live coverage: Day two of the Ways and Means GOP tax bill markup MORE , the Democrats also said Alex Azar should be pressed on his commitment to uphold the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare. This won't be the first time in the hot seat for Azar, who faced the Senate Health Committee last month in what was billed as a courtesy hearing.
Democrats are shifting to offense on health care, emboldened by successes in defending the Affordable Care Act. They say their ultimate goal is a government guarantee of affordable coverage for all.
Some states could run out of funding for their Children's Health Insurance Program as early as this month, despite recently approved spending by Congress that was expected to keep the program running through the end of March, federal health officials said Friday. All states should have sufficient funding at least through Jan. 19 thanks to Congress' $2.85 billion infusion last month, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Reversing guidelines put in place under former President Barack Obama, the Trump administration is scaling back the use of fines against nursing homes that harm residents or place them in grave risk of injury. The shift in the Medicare program's penalty protocols was requested by the nursing home industry.
President Trump has sided with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan to push for sweeping welfare reforms this year but they will have to persuade a skeptical Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell when the three huddle at Camp David over the weekend to set the GOP's legislative agenda for 2018. Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, is expressing grave reservations about tackling the hot-button issue without bipartisan support that the effort almost certainly will lack.
The Trump administration - reversing guidelines put in place under President Barack Obama - is scaling back the use of fines against nursing homes that harm residents or place them in grave risk of injury. The shift in the Medicare program's penalty protocols was requested by the nursing home industry.
When Republicans in Congress passed a tax scheme to funnel huge amounts of money to America's most wealthy families and to powerful multinational corporations, they said that it was no big deal that this scheme would add $1.5 trillion to America's debt. Republicans said that the massive deficit spending they had created would be worthwhile, because financial elites would get a big payoff.
Senator Bernie Sanders has finally admitted that President Trump is telling the truth. At least when it comes to the recent signing of the GOP Tax bill.
There appears to be consensus among Democrats and Republicans in the Iowa Legislature that there are problems with the state's privatized Medicaid program, but there is less agreement over what, if anything, legislators should do about it when they return to the Capitol in a few weeks. Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled statehouse are expected to address a range of topics when they gather in January, including taxes and water quality.
President Donald Trump declared Obamacare dead Wednesday after Congress passed its deeply unpopular $1.5 trillion tax overhaul bill. "Obamacare has been repealed in this bill," he told reporters .
Federal officials are giving Maine residents affected by a massive power outage more time to enroll for health care under the Affordable Care Act. The Bangor Daily News reports Independent Sen. Angus King shared a letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Friday which says residents could qualify for an extension through a special enrollment period.
"At the end of the day what you had is people like [Treasury Secretary Steven] Mnuchin, who himself is worth $300 or $400 million dollars, or the president of the United States who is worth several billion dollars, as you mentioned, some 4,000 to 5,000 lobbyists doing everything that they could to write a bill which significantly benefits the wealthiest people in this country and the largest corporations," Sanders said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. Sanders said that Republicans will turn to cutting "Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid" to offset upwards of $1 trillion in lost revenue, a scenario he said was "grossly unfair" to middle class families.
CBO estimates played a significant role in the several failed attempts by Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare. Several Republican Senators appeared to be scared off by estimates of 20 million or more Americans who would lose coverage due to a particular variation of the repeal/replace effort.
Gov. Charlie Baker has tried, often against the odds, to grow the Republican Party since his 2014 election, but often times that means siding with candidates that don't perfectly align with his brand of moderate, socially liberal Republicanism. That conflict is rearing its head again two weeks before a special Senate election in north central Massachusetts as the Massachusetts Democratic Party is calling on the governor to withdraw his support for Fitchburg City Councilor Dean Tran over comments the candidate made during a debate this past weekend.
Oregon governor Kate Brown recently wrote to her state's two Democratic senators warning that federal funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program will run out in December. About two months after federal funding lapsed for the Children's Health Insurance Program, state officials still don't know exactly when they'll run out of money or when Congress will renew funding - leaving families that depend on the program increasingly anxious about their benefits.
Thanksgiving approaches the GOP-Controlled House has passed H.R. 1, "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," its tax reform legislation, on November 16, by a partisan vote of 227 to 206, with 13 Republicans siding with the Democrats. The House tax bill would dramatically reduce corporate and individual income taxes and would increase the deficit by $ 1.7 trillion over 10 years - - possibly offset by $ $338 billion saved by repealing the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate.
The woman said that they have a granddaughter living in Texas on the CHIP program - that's Medicaid for children. Because Congress is delaying renewing the CHIP program, Texas could run out of funds - leaving the granddaughter without access to her medications.
Emboldened by election wins, Democrats are starting to see a political edge in health care, particularly widening Medicaid access for more low-income people. In Virginia, Democrat Ralph Northam promised a vigorous push as governor to expand Medicaid.