Month: August 2018

Trump administration reportedly poised to approve restrictive changes to Medicaid

health care, medicaid, News, politics

The Trump administration is preparing to approve a number of changes to Medicaid — the government health care program that provides coverage to low-income people — that could leave tens of thousands of people without coverage.

As Politico first reported Friday, the administration is set to approve waivers from some states that would impose work restrictions and allow questions about illegal drug use to be included on applications for Medicaid.

The report comes two...

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Rep. Keith Rothfus’ constituents are fed up with his health care agenda

health, News, politics

ROSS TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA — It’s usually pretty quiet outside Rep. Keith Rothfus’ (R) Ross Township office.

But that changes every Wednesday, when dozens of the congressman’s constituents gather outside his nondescript doors to demand that he hold a town hall meeting. Each week, since February 2017, organizers have rallied about a different topic important to the people of the 17th district, which is made up mostly of the suburbs surrounding Pittsburgh. This week their focu...

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Half of the Supreme Court’s liberal members are over 80 years-old

News, politics

Happy Birthday to Justice Stephen Breyer, who turned 80 on Wednesday. He joins Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is 85, as one of the Court’s two octogenarians. Ginsburg and Breyer are both left-leaning Clinton appointees.

That means that there is a very real chance that a member of the Court’s liberal bloc could be forced to depart the bench before Donald Trump leaves office, potentially giving Trump the opportunity to name a third member of the Supreme Court.

Pre...

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Medicaid work requirements to cause over 5,000 low-income Arkansans to lose health care

health, health care, medicaid, News, politics

In Arkansas, residents on Medicaid need to report 80-hours-a-month of work or service online to keep their health insurance under new requirements. So far, more than 5,000 people have failed to do so, jeopardizing their continuous coverage.

About 5,426 people who qualify for the public health insurance program designed for low-income people failed to report 80 hours of work in June and July, according to the latest numbers from Arkansas’ Department of Human Services. If they f...

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