Tag Archives: Health care

2/7/2018 Nearly 11.8 million people signed up for Obamacare again this year, depite President Trump calling it “dead”. An Associated Press count found that nationwide enrollment was about 3 percent lower than last year. California, with more than 1.5 million sign-ups, was the last state to report, announcing its numbers on Wednesday.  Sixteen states actually increased their enrollment from last year, ...

11/01/2017 In April, Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he planned to use the powers of his office to jeopardize health-care access for millions of low-income people, while undermining America’s insurance markets — because he believed that voters would blame the ensuing chaos on the Democratic Party, leaving Chuck Schumer desperate to negotiate with the White House over Obamacare repeal. ...

10/13/2017 In yet another attempt to torpedo Obamacare, President Trump last night signed an executive order stopping payments to health insurers that help millions of middle-income Americans afford coverage. The move comes two and a half weeks before open enrollment for 2018.  the Department of Health and Human Services said it will immediately end these monthly payments, a move that could push ...

10/1/2017 CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) is one of the few programs left in Congress that is considered truly bipartisan. It was originally co-sponsored by Orrin Hatch, a Republican, and the late Ted Kennedy. CHIP covers the health insurance needs for 9 million US children.  Senators Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden introduced their bipartisan legislation to reauthorize CHIP, which would extend the program ...

9/24/2017 Government employees flying on private jets “is an example of fiscal irresponsibility run amok” according to Tom Price in an interview on CNBC 9/9/2009.  But apparently, Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services forgot his own thinking as he charted himself private jets at least 24 times in recent months.   The estimated cost to taxpayers is in excess of ...

7/27/2017 John McCain gave the thumbs down to Trumpcare late last night.  After seven years of posturing and complaining about the Affordable Healthcare Act, Republicans could not pass a repeal, a replace, or a repeal and replace.   John McCain joined Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski to defeat the passing of the "skinny" repeal, which really wasn't a repeal. ...

6/23/2017 President Trump today signed the Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 , which in part, is designed to speed up the process to discipline employees for misconduct and put more decision-making power in the hands of Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin.  The act is in response to the 2014 VA scandals involving long wait times for medical care and ...

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Offiice today released its finding on Trumpcare, also known as the AHCA.  The final verdict is that 23 million fewer Americans will be covered by the plan in its’ current form.  The plan will also decrease the deficit by $119 billion over the next ten years.  Premiums are expected to go up 20% in 2018, 5% ...

5/23/2017 The level of cuts to medicaid surprised even most Republicans when Trump’s new budget proposal was released today. Medicaid provides coverage for more than 70 million Americans, primarily low income seniors, children, adults and people with disabilities. Flaws in common accounting practices were immediately exposed in the budget, and it isn’t exactly clear what the total amount of the ...

Republican House members again boarded buses for a trip to the White House to celebrate the passing of the ACHA (Trumpcare) Friday.  After failing to garner enough votes in late March, Republicans were able to circle the wagons and pass the American Health Care Act.  After a rough first 100 days which saw few victories, Trump was finally able to ...