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...

Trump’s 2020 campaign kick-off was a parade of his favorite lies and dog whistles

June 19, 2019 climate-change, Donald Trump, fossil-fuels, health care, News, politics

President Donald Trump filed for reelection the day he was inaugurated and has held countless campaign rallies in the two and a half year since. On Tuesday night, he “officially” kicked off his 2020 campaign.

In a rambling speech in Orlando, Trump confirmed that this campaign will look quite similar to the last — in no small part because he spoke as if he was still campaigning against his former rival, Hillary Clinton.

“The only collusion was committed by th...

What single-payer activists make of polls showing voters don’t understand Medicare for All

June 19, 2019 health, health care, News

Recent polls showing voters do not understand Medicare for All have received a lot of attention. But activists who’ve been working to educate the public on this issue for years aren’t surprised by the findings — and a closer look makes it clear people shouldn’t write off Medicare for All just yet.

The Kaiser Family Foundation released a poll on Tuesday showing voters don’t know defining features of Medicare for All — including some of the planR...

Millions to lose benefits under Trump’s proposal to change how poverty is defined, new study shows

June 18, 2019 Affordable Care Act, Donald Trump, health, health care, medicaid, News, obamacare, politics

A new study released Tuesday shows just how insidious the Trump administration’s proposal to change the way the federal government measures poverty actually is. In short: millions could lose health and food benefits.

By way of background, in May, Trump’s budget agency sought public comment on updating the inflation rate used by the Census Bureau to determine the poverty line and estimate who’s poor. This technical change matters a lot because the federal poverty li...

Trump says he’ll announce a ‘phenomenal’ new health care plan soon. Where was it the last 2 years?

June 17, 2019 Affordable Care Act, Donald Trump, health, health care, News, obamacare, politics

President Donald Trump says he’ll unveil a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in two months time. But he’s failed to produce a viable plan for the last two years, and it’s unlikely a few more weeks will change anything.

“If we win back the House, we’re going to produce phenomenal health care,” Trump said in an interview with ABC News that aired Sunday night. “And we already have the concept of the plan, but it’ll ...

Ted Cruz says he wants to expand access to birth control. Here’s his chance.

June 13, 2019 health care, News

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) says he wants to make birth control accessible over the counter, but has yet to support a bill to do just that.

On Wednesday, Cruz tweeted to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), asking her to team up on “a simple, clean bill making birth control available over the counter.” Last week, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that birth control should be over the counter to her millions of followers. Twenty minutes later, she tweeted it should also be free.

The...

The nation’s largest physician group is warming up to universal health care

June 12, 2019 health care, Health Care Reform, News, politics

The American Medical Association (AMA) — one of the nation’s most powerful health groups — is warming up to policy ideas that expand the role of government-run health care, thanks to activists trying to change minds from the inside.

Every year, the country’s largest physician group hosts a meeting to discuss its priorities. The top-line from this year’s annual conference is that the organization will continue its support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) while still op...