Category: Medicaid

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The fight to save Medicare and Medicaid begins in January

Donald Trump has won the presidency after narrowly carrying a few states to put him above 270 electoral votes.But according… Senate Republicans refused to give President Obama’s pick to replace Supreme Court Justice Scalia even the courtesy of a… You’ve heard a lot less from Republicans, including popular vote loser Donald Trump, about plans to privatize Medicare and gut Medicaid under the new administration. In fact, House Speaker Paul Ryan has seemed to cool off a bit on the whole idea.