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...
health care
Medicaid work requirements to cause over 5,000 low-income Arkansans to lose health care
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...
This Illinois Independent candidate bills himself as pro-choice. But there’s a catch.
Voters in Illinois’ 3rd congressional district will have an alternative to incumbent Democrat Rep. Dan Lipinski and Republican nominee Arthur Jones, the former head of the American Nazi Party — and his name is Justin Hanson.
Hanson, a write-in Independent candidate, says on his website that the “campaign was formed to take a stand against an avowed member of the Nazi Party who seeks to capture this District’s seat in Congress.” But in addition to provi...
Study finds New York state’s proposed single-payer system financially feasible
A proposed single-payer health care system in New York state is economically viable and could insure a million people currently without coverage, according to a study from RAND Corp. released Wednesday.
The analysis, which looks at the New York Health Act, was commissioned by the New York State Health Foundation. It makes a number of charitable assumptions about the institution and implementation of the single-payer system, but ultimately concludes the plan would be a cost-effective...
Koch-backed study finds ‘Medicare for All’ would save U.S. government trillions
A single-payer Medicare for All system would reduce the amount the U.S. government spends on health care by more than $2 trillion, a Koch brothers-funded study released Monday found.
Research by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University — a libertarian think tank backed by the Koch brothers — projected that the Medicare for All plan championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) would cost the government $32.6 trillion over 10 years. The highly critical report found that ...
Trump’s poor grasp of health care policy was on full display in Iowa
During a roundtable event on workforce development in Iowa on Thursday, President Trump touted association health care plans.
“[Secretary of Labor] Alex Acosta has come up with incredible health care plans through the Department of Labor, association plans, where you associate, where you have groups, and you go out and get tremendous health care at a very small cost,” Trump said. “It is across state lines. You can compete all over the country, they compete, they wa...
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 ...
Medicare for All caucus launches with 66 members
House Democrats formally announced the formation of the Medicare for All caucus on Thursday, and were joined by representatives from various progressive groups — like National Nurses United, Social Security Works, and Center for Popular Democracy — who helped save Obamacare last summer and now demand more than the status quo. So far 66 members, or one-third of House Democrats, have joined the caucus led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (WA), Debbie Dingell (MI), and Keith Ellison (MN)....
Protests against Pittsburgh hospital expansion highlight city’s growing racial health disparities
More than 100 activists and employees took turns speaking at a packed Pittsburgh City Council hearing Tuesday on the proposed $2 billion expansion of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in the city’s Uptown neighborhood. They were there to demand that the health care giant agree to higher wages and unionization for workers before it moves forward with expansion.
Prior to the hearing, opponents of the plan marched to the city council building and held a rally, asking f...
Nebraska lawmakers are suing to block voters’ chance to give more people health care by ballot
In November, Nebraska voters will get the opportunity to vote on whether or not the government should provide more low-income residents health insurance. But a new lawsuit from Republican lawmakers is trying to deny voters their say.
Should Nebraska residents vote to expand Medicaid eligibility to 138 percent of poverty level, an estimated 90,000 people statewide will gain health care.
Nebraska is one of four states aiming to expand Medicaid insurance this fall. The others ar...