With midterm elections fast approaching, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has let it be known that Republicans aren’t done trying to repeal Obamacare.
Calling the GOP’s previous attempt to end the Affordable Care Act “the one disappointment of this Congress from a Republican point of view,” McConnell told Reuters on Wednesday that his party could make another run at President Barack Obama’s signature health care law if Republicans expand th...
Affordable Care Act
Here’s a list of every vulnerable House Republican who voted to gut pre-existing conditions coverage
Ahead of the midterm elections, Republicans are positioning themselves as members of the party that will protect people with pre-existing conditions. But this campaign strategy simply doesn’t match up with their voting record on health care.
“Republicans only will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions,” said President Donald Trump during a campaign rally for Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the truth is Barr voted to weaken p...
Two federal judges rule insurance companies must cover transgender health procedures
Two different federal courts granted rulings last week in favor of allowing transgender people to access the medically necessary care prescribed to them by their doctors.
The rulings confirm the Affordable Care Act’s protections on the basis of sex extend to transgender people.
In Wisconsin, two University of Wisconsin employees challenged an exclusion to the Uniform Benefits established by the state’s Government Insurance Board. The exclusion prohibited coverage ...
Patient advocate groups sue Trump administration over skimpy health plans
Seven patient advocate and health care groups are suing the Trump administration for expanding short-term limited duration plans, cheap health insurance with a history of discrimination.
These groups — representing patients, providers, and insurers — accuse the Trump administration of jeopardizing health care for the most vulnerable, as these short-term plans can skirt consumer protections outlined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and deny people with pre-existing condit...
These 15 House incumbents scrubbed ‘repeal Obamacare’ from their re-election sites
With their party majority in extreme peril in November’s midterm elections, House Republicans are facing a dilemma. While they ran on a pledge to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, support for Obamacare now far exceeds support for the GOP-controlled Congress. Several incumbents have employed a bold strategy: hide the evidence of their position.
ThinkProgress examined the campaign websites of dozens of Republican incumbents in races deemed competitive by ...
Here’s what you need to know about the lawsuit trying to end Obamacare
In a lawsuit that’s been labeled “absurd” and “ludicrous” by legal experts, conservative and liberal alike, Texas and 19 other conservative states are suing to eliminate the Affordable Care Act (ACA) once and for all, as past Republican efforts failed to do so.
On Wednesday, Federal Judge Reed O’Connor, a wildcard who’s ruled against Obamacare multiple times, will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit brought forward in February. O’Connor is expected t...
Cities sue Trump for sabotaging Obamacare
Four cities filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Thursday accusing the president and his cabinet of “waging a relentless campaign to sabotage and, ultimately, to nullify” the Affordable Care Act.
The suit — filed in a Maryland federal court by Chicago, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Baltimore — comes on the heels of the Department of Health and Human Services’ finalization Wednesday of regulations allowing people to keep short-term health insurance plans for up to...
GOP Senate candidates no longer want to talk about killing Obamacare
Once upon a time, Republicans made Obamacare an albatross for Democrats and made their vow to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act a centerpiece of their 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 campaigns. Then they got control of the government and repeatedly failed to keep that promise — as the law’s popularity hit all-time highs.
Now, suddenly Republican lawmakers and candidates are on the defensive for their desire to strip an estimated 23 million Americans of ...
Health and Human Services Department removes website’s language on sex discrimination
The Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services changed or removed information on its website about sex discrimination, according to a new report from the Sunlight Foundation.
The Office for Civil Rights altered this information on several webpages on Section 1557, part of the Affordable Care Act that relates to sex discrimination, between March and August 2017, according to the nonprofit focused on government transparency. Now, mentions of sex discriminat...
Vermont to regulate Trump administration’s fraud-prone association health plan rule
Vermont officials are seeking to regulate the Trump administration’s association health plan proposal, introduced in January and finalized by the Department of Labor last month, amid concerns that the plans would make health insurance inaccessible and prone to fraud.
Introduced under the guise of providing consumers with more choice and cheaper options, association health plans (AHP) allow businesses to form associations based on geography or industry and can provide insurance plans...