How to Threaten a Political Movement, 30 Seconds at a Time

March 4, 2020 Health Insurance and Managed Care, News, United States Politics and Government

Ads against Medicare for All aired during the Democratic debates. Between the lines, you could almost hear an industry putting party leaders on notice.

Super Tuesday: voting under way as Sanders bids to extend lead amid Biden surge – live

March 3, 2020 Democrats, Donald Trump, News, US news, US politics, World news

Fourteen states vote in Democratic primaries
Explainer: your guide to Super Tuesday
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7.14pm GMT
My colleague on the west coast, Maanvi Singh, will take on the blog now as Super Tuesday voting - and related drama - continues. Later, Joan Greve in Washington, DC, will helm the blog as the polls begin to close and the results trickle in tonight.
Here’s what’s happened so far today:
7.03pm GMT
The Trump administration is considering using a national disaster program to pay hospitals and doctors for their care of uninsured people infected with the coronavirus.
As concerns rise over costs of treating some of the 27 million Americans without health coverage, the government is looking for news ways to step in, a person familiar with the conversations told the Wall Street Journal. This would certainly be unexpected.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been in discussions about using that program to pay providers who treat uninsured patients with coronavirus, the person said.
Dr. Robert Kadlec, who is the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services, also said Tuesday at a congressional hearing that discussions are being held about using the National Disaster Medical System reimbursement program.
Related: Coronavirus: health experts concerned US hospitals are not prepared
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The one number that determines if you can retire today

March 3, 2020 News

Quartz

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Medicaid expansion tied to fewer maternal deaths, study says

March 3, 2020 News

A major part of the Affordable Care Act -- the expansion of Medicaid -- may be linked to lower rates of women dying in pregnancy, childbirth or within six weeks of delivery, a new study suggests.

CNN

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Biden on Sanders’ Medicare for All: ‘I respect the fact that he wants to do it, but level with the American people’

March 3, 2020 News

Former Vice President Joe Biden tells Lawrence O’Donnell that his plan to expand health care under Obamacare is more feasible than Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All, which he believes will not pass in Congress: “I’ve laid out exactly how to pay for it, and
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White House adds VA secretary, CMS chief to coronavirus task force

March 2, 2020 News

The Trump administration has added Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma to its coronavirus task force.The office of Vice President Pen...

Obamacare arguments put Supreme Court and health care in presidential election spotlight

March 2, 2020March 2, 2020 News

The Supreme Court agreed Monday to once again become the decider on the future of Obamacare -- the controversial law that has become a fabric of society for the millions of Americans who have come to rely upon it.
CNN

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US supreme court to hear Affordable Care Act appeal that could cast doubt on law

March 2, 2020 News, US healthcare, US news

Lower court’s ruling that individual mandate was unconstitutional to be reviewed after 19 Democratic states appealed the decision
US supreme court to hear third Affordable Care Act challenge
The US supreme court has announced it will hear a case on whether a part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional. A decision is not expected until after the 2020 election.
In December, a federal appeals court ruled that the ACA’s individual mandate, which requires every American to have health insurance, was unconstitutional. The ruling cast doubt upon the rest of the law, which is known colloquially as Obamacare.
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U.S. Supreme Court takes up Democratic bid to defend Obamacare

March 2, 2020March 3, 2020 News, topNews

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a politically explosive case on whether Obamacare is lawful, taking up a bid by 20 Democratic-led states including California and New York to preserve the landmark healthcare law.
Reuters

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