Category: Health

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Top House Republicans say their outline for replacing President Barack Obama’s health care law is a pathway to greater flexibility and lower costs for consumers. Democrats see a road to ruin for millions who’d face lost coverage and higher medical expenses, particularly the poor.

Judge puts N.C. Medicaid litigation on hold Updated at

Litigation between Republican state lawmakers, federal officials and new Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration on his effort to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of North Carolina residents has been put on hold for a couple of months. A federal judge delayed the proceedings Friday, as requested this week by GOP legislative leaders and federal health regulators now part of President Donald Trump’s administration.

West Slope should get a say in health reform

This is the year Obamacare would have permitted a state to apply for a waiver to pursue innovative strategies for providing residents with access to high-quality, affordable health insurance while retaining the basic protections of the Affordable Care Act. It appears, however, that the opportunity to experiment with an alternative to Obamacare with the full backing of the federal government is winding down.

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Rep. Mick Mulvaney, President Donald Trump’s staunchly conservative choice to lead the White House budget office, is headed before a Senate panel whose members will probe for clues on the new administration’s plans… Rep. Mick Mulvaney, President Donald Trump’s staunchly conservative choice to lead the White House budget office, says Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid need significant changes to be preserved for future generations The assertion that Trump lost the popular vote because of alleged illegal voting appears to be part of a developing pattern for the new administration in which falsehoods overshadow outreach efforts.

Trump to inherit $559B deficit, stable economy

WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump has inherited a stable economy and a government that is on track to run a $559 billion budget deficit for the year, congressional analysts said Tuesday. The estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office say the economy will hold relatively steady, with economic growth rising slightly to 2.3 percent this year and unemployment averaging less than 5 percent for the duration of Trump’s term.

Kids will fall through the cracks with Obamacare repeal – what’s Trump’s Plan B?: Joan Benso and Denise Salerno

Kids will fall through the cracks with Obamacare repeal – what’s Trump’s Plan B?: Joan Benso and Denise Salerno Molly Brechtel, at left, and Daniel Doubet join about 15 protestors gathered at the Federal Courthouse in Erie, Pa., on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, to deliver signatures to U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., who has an office at the courthouse. The protestors urged Toomey not to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement.

Israeli army has a smoking problem, new study finds

Nearly 40 percent of Israelis are smokers by the time they finish their compulsory army service, according to a new study. That is twice as high as the overall national rate and dramatically higher than among American soldiers, according to the study published Monday in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

KanCare problems never end

In Gov. Sam Brownback’s State of the State address on Jan. 10, he lauded KanCare as an innovative Medicaid program that’s gaining national traction: “Fortunately for our budget, Kansas had the foresight to reform Medicaid – a policy others are following.

Trump Is Giving A Beleaguered Vaping Industry Renewed Hope

Leaders in the vaping industry are hopeful President Donald Trump will help slash regulations threatening to put electronic cigarette vendors across the country out of business. E-cigarette manufacturers and vendors faced a brutal year of new rules and regulations from the federal government and localities throughout many states.

Trump Adviser Kellyanne Conway Says Obamacare – Penalty’ Will End

Kellyanne Conway, a key adviser to President Donald Trump, said the new administration plans to end the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that most people have health insurance, a step that could destabilize the law’s markets. Conway, in an interview airing Sunday on NBC News’ “Sunday Today With Willie Geist,” appeared to indicate that the law’s requirement that most employers offer coverage to their full-time workers would also end.

Doctors for Patient Freedom to Confer Ed Annis Award on Jane Orient, M.D.

Doctors for Patient Freedom will be recognizing the achievements of Dr. Jane Orient at the upcoming meeting of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, Jan 27, 2017. “Congressman Tom Price, M.D., and Ben Carson, M.D., have previously received the Ed Annis Medical Freedom Award, which recognizes leaders who have fought for medical freedom,” states David McKalip, M.D., founder of Doctors for Patient Freedom.

Blame insurers, not Obamacare

Blame insurers, not Obamacare The recent op-ed by Congressman Scott Perry misleads your readership on the effects of the Affordable Care Act. Check out this story on ydr.com: http://on-ydr.co/2jDAkLh The recent op-ed by Congressman Scott Perry seriously misleads your readership on the effects of the Affordable Care Act and the Republican plan to repeal it.

California withdraws immigrant health care request

California officials on Wednesday withdrew their request to sell unsubsidized insurance policies to people who can’t prove they’re legally in the United States after learning the decision would fall to President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. Calling the decision “the first California casualty of the Trump presidency,” Sen. Ricardo Lara said he doesn’t trust the incoming administration to protect people’s privacy and health.

These courageous HIV advocates will lead the way against Trump in 2017

Donald J. Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress are a threat to everything HIV advocates have been fighting for during the last thirty years, and that includes access to healthcare, bans on insurance companies using HIV as reason to deny coverage, HIV prevention programs like PrEP, and the dignity with which we treat those who are most vulnerable to HIV infection. This new political reality is reflected in the 2017 list of HIV Advocates to Watch from Queerty health writer Mark King’s blog My Fabulous Disease .

Pointed questions await Trumpa s pick for health secretary

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press WASHINGTON – With coverage for millions of people at stake, Rep. Tom Price is facing pointed questions about President-elect Donald Trump’s health policies – and his own investments in health care companies – from senators considering his selection as health secretary.

Trump vows ‘insurance for everybody’ in Obamacare replacement plan

Protesters demonstrating support for the Affordable Care Act hold signs and chant in the lobby of Trump International Hotel & Tower at Columbus Circle in New York, Jan. 15, 2017. [Demetrius Freeman President-elect Donald Trump said in a weekend interview that he is nearing completion of a plan to replace President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law with the goal of “insurance for everybody,” while also vowing to force drug companies to negotiate directly with the government on prices in Medicare and Medicaid.

Jeff Sadow: Medicaid expansion becomes an obsession

If you agree with the agenda of Medicaid reformers taking power in Washington, Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards and his intemperate chief health bureaucrat say you’re the bad guy. With a mixture of conceit and high dudgeon, Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Rebekah Gee declared efforts to repeal Medicaid expansion “irresponsible, inhumane and ill-advised.”

Sewell voices opposition to Obamacare repeal efforts

With a near party-line 227-198 House vote, Congress gave final approval Friday to a budget that will ease passage of a still-unwritten bill replacing President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul with a GOP edition. The budget – the Senate approved it Thursday – bars Democratic senators from blocking that future legislation with a filibuster.

‘This experiment has failed’: House charts course to repeal health law

The House cleared the way Friday for speedy action to repeal the Affordable Care Act, putting Congress on track to undo the most significant health care law in a half-century. With a near party-line vote of 227-198, the House overcame the opposition of Democrats and the anxieties of some Republicans to approve a budget blueprint that allows Republicans to end major provisions of President Barack Obama’s health care law without the threat of a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

Reviewing the other night’s travesties

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan reads from a list of states with increasing health insurance premiums during his weekly news conference in the Capitol Visitors Center at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. Yesterday, January 12, was a shameful day for us in Colorado.

Personalized IRS letters nudge uninsured to get coverage

If you haven’t signed up for health insurance, you may soon be getting a not-too-subtle nudge from the taxman. The IRS is sending personalized letters to millions of taxpayers who might be uninsured, reminding them that they could be on the hook for hundreds of dollars in fines under the federal health care law if they don’t sign up soon.