Category: Health

Obamacare drama at Senate vote-a-rama

Senate Republicans are poised to take the first step to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare law by approving a budget blueprint that they’ve dubbed the Obamacare “repeal resolution.” The largely symbolic exercise — set to begin Wednesday evening and possibly stretching into the wee hours of Thursday — is ripe for theater.

The Latest: Obama calls for Trump to ‘get to work’ on Russia

President Barack Obama says he hopes President-elect Donald Trump will “get to work” trying to prevent Russia from interfering again in a U.S. election. Obama is being asked about revelations that top intelligence officials last week told Trump about an unsubstantiated report that Russia had compromising personal and financial information about him.

D.C. officials vow to fight for uninsured if Obamacare repeal passes

D.C. officials have vowed not to leave the city’s most vulnerable residents without health insurance if Congress repeals the Affordable Care Act, despite the possibility of a $623 million shortfall for health care in the District. As the chairman of the D.C. Council’s newly formed Health Committee, Vincent Gray is uniquely positioned to take the lead in dealing with the aftermath of a dismantled ACA in the District.

Senate Democrats To Hold Late-Night Talkathon Against Obamacare Repeal

There’s little doubt that Republicans are going to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but Democrats want to make it as politically damaging for them as possible. On Monday night, Senate Democrats plan to stay up late, delivering floor speeches and Facebook Live broadcasts attacking the Republicans’ drive to dismantle President Barack Obama’s signature health care law .

Cooper Makes a Colossal Blunder

Roy Cooper spent his last few weeks as governor-elect of North Carolina attacking the state legislature for encroaching on the separation of powers, weakening the rule of law, subverting the will of the voters, and hurrying new policies through too quickly, without adequate discussion or consultation. Roy Cooper then spent his initial few days as governor of North Carolina doing precisely what he’d accused the legislature of doing – and giving himself an unnecessary black eye.

Cooper Makes a Colossal Blunder

Roy Cooper spent his last few weeks as governor-elect of North Carolina attacking the state legislature for encroaching on the separation of powers, weakening the rule of law, subverting the will of the voters, and hurrying new policies through too quickly, without adequate discussion or consultation. Roy Cooper then spent his initial few days as governor of North Carolina doing precisely what he’d accused the legislature of doing – and giving himself an unnecessary black eye.

Duck waterslide, chicken hatchery at Pa. Farm Show

The first show that begins the second century of Pennsylvania Farm Shows is welcoming back the birds, after a year when fear of spreading the deadly avian influenza kept all forms of poultry away from the exhibition. “The birds are back,” shouted Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture spokesman Will Nichols.

Duck waterslide, chicken hatchery at Pa. Farm Show

The first show that begins the second century of Pennsylvania Farm Shows is welcoming back the birds, after a year when fear of spreading the deadly avian influenza kept all forms of poultry away from the exhibition. “The birds are back,” shouted Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture spokesman Will Nichols.

Duck waterslide, chicken hatchery at Pa. Farm Show

The first show that begins the second century of Pennsylvania Farm Shows is welcoming back the birds, after a year when fear of spreading the deadly avian influenza kept all forms of poultry away from the exhibition. “The birds are back,” shouted Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture spokesman Will Nichols.

The Wall Street Journal: McConnell says GOP will have new health plan soon after Obamacare repeal

Congress will quickly devise a new health-insurance system after moving to repeal the Obama administration’s signature health-care law in coming days, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday, despite growing questions within the Republican Party over the GOP’s strategy. “We will be replacing it rapidly after repealing it,” the Kentucky Republican said Sunday on CBS.

Editorial, Jan. 8, 2017: Reform, dona t repeal, Obamacare

If Republican’s can’t convince Americans they have a replacement that’s better than the Affordable Care Act, then they’ll own the results. Which leads to the sneaking suspicion they don’t have an alternative that will provide equal or better coverage for about 20 million Americans who were able to obtain health insurance through Obamacare.

GOP House panel: Halt federal money for Planned Parenthood

A Republican-run House panel created to investigate Planned Parenthood and the world of fetal tissue research has urged Congress to halt federal payments to the women’s health organization. Democrats said the GOP probe had unearthed no wrongdoing and wasted taxpayers’ money in an abusive investigation reminiscent of the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

Bernie Sanders Holds Donald Trump Accountable For His Health Care…

On Wednesday, Bernie Sanders pulled an amazing move when he presented the senate floor with a massive printout of a 2015 tweet Donald sent promising not to cut funding for medicare and medicaid. In case you weren’t following, the Senate is currently in the process of debating whether or not to repeal Obamacare, so the savage exposA couldn’t come at a better time.

The Latest: Official says intel community ready for Trump

A U.S. official says there has been no delay in the intelligence community’s plans to brief President-elect Donald Trump on Russian interference in the 2016 election. The official says the intelligence community was confused by Trump’s tweet Tuesday saying the briefing had been delayed until Friday.

Congress returns with aggressive conservative agenda

As a new Congress convenes Tuesday, Republicans will arrive with a long and aggressive to-do list, emboldened by majorities in the House and the Senate and the promise of President-elect Donald Trump. Working from a blueprint of the last half-decade, they’re anxious to enact the conservative policy agenda that a Democratic White House has thwarted, undoing much of President Barack Obama’s legacy in the process.

The Latest: China calls Trump remarks on NKorea ‘pandering’

A state-run Chinese tabloid says Donald Trump is “pandering to ‘irresponsible’ attitudes” after the U.S. president-elect accused China of not stepping in to curtail the North Korean nuclear program. The Global Times newspaper says Pyongyang’s nuclear program “stokes the anxieties of some Americans” who blame China rather than looking inward.

Democrats extol health care law in bid to derail GOP repeal

Senior House Democrats on Monday extolled the benefits of President Barack Obama’s health care law in hopes of derailing Republican plans to gut the statute and over time replace it. In a conference call with reporters, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the GOP will begin its “assault” on the health care law when the 115th Congress convenes Tuesday.

Trump’s healthcare nominees are just what the doctor ordered

It has been widely reported that President-elect Trump’s nomination of Rep. Tom Price, an orthopedic surgeon, to be the next secretary of Health and Human Services , and Seema Verma to be the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services , has drawn many cheers from Republicans eager to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. To be sure, replacing Obamacare would be a huge victory for conservatives, and Price has proved he is more than qualified to take on the task by authoring a comprehensive replacement plan in every Congress since 2011.

Commentary: Safety net faces dire threats from Trump, GOP

Poor Americans are facing the gravest threat to the federal safety net in decades as President-elect Donald Trump takes office accompanied by a Republican-controlled Congress. The risks to essential benefits for tens of millions of low- and moderate- income Americans include losing coverage extended to them by the Affordable Care Act , threats to the fundamental structure of the Medicaid health-insurance program for the poor, and further reduction of already squeezed funding for scores of other important programs serving the most vulnerable Americans.

Here’s How Medicare Is Changing in 2017

Medicare provides essential healthcare coverage to tens of millions of Americans, but every year, the program sees some changes to the way it offers its benefits. In 2017, not only will Medicare participants see typical changes in costs and coverage options, but they’ll also see political pressure that could result in more dramatic healthcare reform that could affect Medicare.

Federal Judge Places Injunction On Obama Transgender And Abortion Rules

A federal judge in Texas on Saturday issued a nationwide injunction halting enforcement of Obama administration protections for transgender and abortion-related healthcare services just one day before they were due to go into effect. The lawsuit – brought by Texas, a handful of other states, and some religiously affiliated nonprofit medical groups – challenges a regulation implementing the sex nondiscrimination requirement found in the Affordable Care Act .

UPDATE 1-U.S. scrambles to clear egg exports to bird flu-hit Korea

U.S. officials are urgently seeking an agreement with South Korea that would allow imports of American eggs so farmers can cash in on a shortage caused by the Asian country’s worst-ever outbreak of bird flu. The two sides are negotiating over terms of potential shipments after South Korea lifted a ban on imports of U.S. table eggs that it imposed when the United States grappled with its own bout of bird flu last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

With Trump’s victory, GOP hopes to overhaul Medicaid

In this Jan. 13, 2015 file photo, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., left, joined by Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., heads to a meeting of House Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington. When President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, Republicans will have the opportunity to do something they have desired for years – overhaul Medicaid, the program that provides health care to millions of lower-income and disabled Americans.

Letters: Tribune coverage ‘wacky’ in its own right

The Portland Tribune recently printed a front-page article having to do with Measure 97’s failure, and an editorial castigating the “wackiness” of the recent city tax imposed on corporations and CEO salaries. The article is carefully framed to put the onus on proponents’ failure to connect with voters, that the measure was poorly written and misunderstood;.