Alaska’s legislature fails to stop a major attack on its judicial independence

July 12, 2019 health, health care, News, politics

Alaska’s legislature has until Friday at midnight to override the governor’s attack on the state’s judicial system. No vote has yet been scheduled, and one-third of the legislators are in Wasilla, 800 miles away from the state capital.

Using a line-item veto, Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) recently slashed the budget of the state’s Supreme Court, due to its repeated protection of abortion rights. Dunleavy cut the budget of the Alaska Supreme Court and the court of appeals by 5%, as part of ...

Here’s what unions think about Medicare for All

July 12, 2019 health care, News, politics

History tells us that the support of organized labor is critical to any major health care reform in the United States.

Unions represent 1 in 10 U.S. workers, making it one of the largest institutions nationwide. So what does that mean for “Medicare for All,” a policy that moves everyone into one public plan with no premiums or deductibles?

Everyone agrees universal health care coverage is the goal, but not everyone agrees Medicare for All is the only or best way t...

California becomes first state to give young undocumented adults health care. But is that enough?

July 10, 2019 health, health care, News, politics

The health care system failed Ana because of her immigration status: she’s undocumented.

Ana’s last two pregnancies were riddled with complications. But her lack of insurance exacerbated her health problems. She didn’t qualify for full-scope Medicaid, even though she was eligible by income, but the state did offer her pregnancy-related Medicaid, a public plan that covers every pregnant resident regardless of immigration status, but comes with an expiration...

‘It’s a sexist and racist attack’: Trump’s regulation to weaken home health care unions takes effect

July 5, 2019 Donald Trump, health care, News, politics

Adarra Benjamin earns $13.48 an hour as a home health worker — a wage that includes a 48-cent-per hour raise thanks to her union, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Illinois.

Benjamin, who’s 25 years old and lives in Chicago, also received $1,200 in backpay this year after Illinois agreed to the raises back in 2017. She was one of more than 49,000 employees statewide to receive this long-overdue backpay.

“After becoming a member… I...

States that passed ‘heartbeat’ bans spent thousands on abortion test cases after losing in court

July 3, 2019 health care, News

Before Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio made headlines for passing extreme near-total abortion bans, Arkansas and North Dakota did the same years prior.

Advocacy groups immediately sued when Arkansas and North Dakota passed so-called heartbeat laws in 2013. By the end of the years-long legal battles, both states spent thousands of dollars defending these bans after losing in federal courts. Altogether, officials told ThinkProgress the states spe...

Will Democratic front-runners regret rejecting private insurance?

June 28, 2019 Democrat, Donald Trump, health care, medicaid, News, Republican

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We know who supports Medicare for All. We don’t know how Democrats will pass it.

June 27, 2019 health care, News

The Democratic primary debate Wednesday night revealed two big things when it comes to health care.

First, most candidates on the stage were not interested in abolishing private health insurance in favor of a government-run plan, which is at the core of Medicare for All.

Second, none of the Democrats had a good answer on how to pass Medicare for All or any proposal that expands the role of government-run insurance, so long as Republicans maintain control of the Senate.

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Trump’s executive order aims to tell patients how expensive health care is. But that’s all it does.

June 25, 2019 health care, News

The thinking behind President Donald Trump’s executive order on Monday is that more transparency around health care costs will benefit patients. That sounds sensible but, as various experts cautioned, the details matter.

The White House is tasking federal agencies with writing regulations that try to reveal a lot of information that isn’t readily available, like how much insurers pay hospitals for services and how much patients will pay out of pocket before being treated...

The 2020 candidates finally had to answer activists’ questions about abortion. Here’s what they said

June 22, 2019 health care, News, planned-parenthood

Reproductive freedom activists have long wanted a forum dedicated to abortion. On Saturday, they got one.

Planned Parenthood hosted 20 Democrats running for president at the University of South Carolina, where activists questioned candidates about their record and vision on the issue. During the day-long event, candidates demonstrated their understanding of abortion — whether they view it as health care and understand that it intersects with identities like gender and class.

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30,000 poor elderly, people with disabilities to lose Medicaid coverage in Georgia

June 20, 2019 health, health care, medicaid, Medicare, News

Georgia state officials said Tuesday that 30,000 residents will lose their Medicaid coverage for failing to respond to renewal notices. But lawyers of many of the recipients affected say their clients were dropped from coverage without ever having received those notices.

The state Department of Community Health (DCH) had initially reported in early June that 17,000 poor elderly or people with disabilities, who are “dual eligibles” also receiving Medicare benefits, would lose their M...