Trump administration weakens Obamacare birth control coverage mandate

November 7, 2018November 7, 2018 News

The Trump administration issued two final rules on Wednesday providing employers more flexibility with exemptions to deny women insurance coverage for birth control.
CNN

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Voters expand Medicaid in red states; gridlock in Congress likely to protect Obamacare

November 7, 2018November 7, 2018 News

With a Democratic House and a Republican Senate, analysts say gridlock will likely block major federal changes to the Affordable Care Act.

USA Today

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Scientists are coming to Congress

November 7, 2018 congress, Democrats, News, US Senate

As of Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 7, 4:45pm eastern time) seven candidates with science degrees have won seats in US Congress. An eighth candidate, Kim Schrier, a pediatrician running for Washington’s eighth district, is six percentage points ahead of her Republican oppone...

Meet the other 29-year-old woman elected to Congress

November 7, 2018 News, politics

Celebratory roundups of female “firsts” elected to the US Congress—including the first two Muslim women, the first two Native American women, and the first Korean-American woman—have been abounding since last night’s e...

Goodbye to all these Trump allies in the House

November 7, 2018 Donald Trump, News, politics

More than a few of the more moderate members of the Republican House caucus lost their seats in Tuesday’s elections. The narrative according to some is that these moderate losses make the House of Representatives more tied to Trump than ever. And President Trump seemed to further that himself during a press conference on Wednesday, when he blamed the losses in the House on Republicans who distanced themselves from him.

But that’s not the whole story. The 116th Congress w...

These Democrats just flipped key governor seats

November 7, 2018 News, politics

Democrats flipped at least seven gubernatorial seats Tuesday, a significant achievement that could help undo years of harmful Republican policy — particularly when it comes to the gerrymandering efforts that help keep GOP politicians in control.

Michigan, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, Maine, Wisconsin, and Nevada will have Democratic governors come January 2019. When redistricting begins in 2021, Democratic governors can play an important role in reversing Republican gerrymand...

Health concerns drive voters to back Medicaid, weed and trans rights

November 7, 2018 News

Voters in 37 states had more than candidates to choose Tuesday. There were more than 150 statewide measures on ballots this midterm election and several involved health-related issues ranging from the taxes on feminine hygiene products to Medicaid expansion, to abortion access, and legalizing the recreational and medicinal use of marijuana. Based on the preliminary vote results, here's what some voters went for and what they rejected.
CNN

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Scott Walker, longtime foe of public school teachers, loses Wisconsin governor race to former teacher

November 7, 2018 News, politics

Tony Evers (D), Wisconsin’s state superintendent of public education and a former teacher, won the governor’s race against incumbent Scott Walker (R). Walker, who has undermined teachers unions and supported the underfunding of public education in the state throughout this career as governor, recently tried to recast himself as a champion for public schools. Voters didn’t buy it.

Walker became governor in 2010, survived a recall effort, and was re-elected in 2014 w...

A Winning Idea: Medicaid Expansion Prevails In Idaho, Nebraska And Utah

November 7, 2018 News

Voters in Idaho, Utah and Nebraska approved ballot initiatives to expand Medicaid, overcoming roadblocks that had kept an estimated 300,000 people from obtaining coverage.
(Image credit: Kim Raff for NPR)

Major ballot measures that passed in 2018 midterm elections

November 7, 2018November 7, 2018 News

Americans didn't just vote for candidates. They also passed a number of ballot measures across the country on issues including legalizing marijuana, expanding access to Medicaid, and restoring voting rights to felons.