More Rauner, Democrat showdowns on tap in fall session

In this July 26, 2017 file photo, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks during a news conference at the state Capitol, Wednesday, July 26, 2017, in Springfield, Ill. Still struggling with budget problems and faced with new demands for cash, the Illinois General Assembly returns Tuesday for the first week of its fall session.

Maine puts question of Obamacare subsidies directly to state voters

Maine voters will decide in November whether to expand their Medicaid rolls under Obamacare, offering a major test of the public's appetite for government-funded insurance as Congress decides whether to rein in or build on the 2010 law that swelled the federal footprint in health care. The Maine Legislature has tried five times to grab federal dollars that let states extend the insurance program for the poor to more able-bodied adults.

APNewsBreak: Feds threaten funds for Kansas mental hospital

Timothy Keck, Kansas secretary of aging and disability services, answers questions about a threat from the federal government to cut off funds for patient care at the state's mental hospital in western Kansas, Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, in Topeka, Kan. Keck says he's confident the state can fix all of the problems cited in a building at Larned State Hospital.

Democrats Must Soon Decide Whether Single-Payer Is a Litmus…

Even as many Democrats join the single-payer parade, Tim Kaine and Michael Bennet are offering a new, incremental approach to health care called "Medicare X." There has been a simmering debate in left-of-center circles all year about whether Democrats should unite behind single-payer health care as a rallying cry and a litmus test. There is no question there is a trend toward support for single payer among Democratic pols and voters , but the question is whether any other, more incremental, policy prescriptions in health care are now to be excoriated as insufficiently progressive.

Weakening Medicaid From Within

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, an orthopedic surgeon from Georgia, has encouraged states to seek waivers that would undermine Medicaid's role as a safety net. rom its modest beginning in 1965, when it was passed as a little-noticed companion to Medicare, Medicaid has evolved into an indispensable public health program with broad bipartisan support.

GOP’s drastic Medicaid cuts would be devastating for HIV-positive Ohioans like me: Olga Irwin (Opinion)

A scanning electron micrograph revealed the presence of the human immunodeficiency virus , in this 2011 file photo. Olga Irwin writes that her ability to manage her expensive HIV treatments along with treatments for her other illnesses is threatened by proposed GOP budget cuts.

Exploratory bid tests extent of state’s GOP rifts

With nearly $1.2 million in the bank and a laundry list of accomplishments he's touting to Republican voters that include tax cuts and several new abortion restrictions, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson at first glance should be in a comfortable position for the 2018 GOP primary as he ramps up his re-election bid. But a potential primary campaign against Hutchinson next year may test how much room, if any, there is to challenge his conservative credentials.

Pro-Trump states most affected by his health care decision

President Donald Trump speaks to the 2017 Value Voters Summit, Friday, Oct. 13, 2017, in Washington. Trump's decision to end a provision of the Affordable Care Act that has benefited an estimated 6 million Americans helps fulfill a campaign promise, but it also risks harming some of the very people who helped him win the presidency.

Keep the CHIP bill clean

Few members of Congress seem to disagree that federal funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program should be continued. It serves an estimated 8.9 million youngsters whose parents have moderate incomes, but not low enough to qualify for Medicaid coverage.

HHS augments medical care at hospitals in Puerto Rico impacted by Hurricane Maria

The Department of Health and Human Services medical staff today will assist two more partially operational medical facilities and a shelter in Puerto Rico as part of the Trump administration's relief efforts for the U.S. territories impacted by Hurricane Maria. Last night, HHS began providing assistance at four medical facilities.

Health secretary Tom Price resigns amid travel flap

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Illinois governor agrees to allow Medicaid for abortions

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner ended months of speculation Thursday and signed legislation allowing state health insurance and Medicaid coverage for abortions, as the first-term Republican reversed his stance on the proposal from last spring. The General Assembly controlled by Democrats approved the measure in May but delayed sending it to Rauner until Monday, in part because he has changed his mind about support of the plan.

Medicaid has a bull’s-eye on its back, which means no one is entirely safe

When high levels of lead were discovered in the public water system in Flint, Mich., in 2015, Medicaid stepped in to help thousands of children get tested for poisoning and receive care. When disabled children need to get to doctors' appointments - either across town or hundreds of miles away - Medicaid pays for their transportation.

A New Obamacare Repeal Draft Is Out And It Attacks Pre-Existing Protections More Severely

Based on initial inspection, it is a lot like the original bill, which would have decimated existing federal health programs. But the new legislation, which Politico and Vox first reported, also includes two key sets of changes - an even more aggressive assault on protections for people with pre-existing conditions, as well as some extra money for a handful of states.

Does the Cassidy-Graham health-care bill have constitutional problems?

Sen. Bill Cassidy , center, joined by fellow senators, including Sen. Lindsey O. Graham , far left, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , far right, speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 19. The Affordable Care Act faced immediate constitutional challenges once it was enacted.