health care

U.S. life expectancy has dropped due to the opioid crisis. All Trump has done is unlock $157,000.

health, health care, News

The life expectancy declined in 2016 for a second consecutive year, and this was largely driven by the country’s drug crisis.

Drug overdoses killed more U.S. residents in 2016 than any other year, according to a 2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report on U.S. mortality. More than 63,600 people died of drug overdoses last year; roughly two-thirds, or 42,200 deaths, were associated with opioids. And experts say CDC is likely undercounting opioid-related deat...

Read More

GOP rushed to pass tax bill, but likely won’t fund Children’s Health Insurance Program until 2018

health care, News

On Wednesday, Senate lawmakers reneged on their promise to include funding for children of low-income families in the short-term government funding bill, exacerbating the already dismal situation for the millions of children who rely on the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Susan Collins (R-ME) said they do not expect to appropriate long-term funding until next year. It’s been 81 days since Congress missed the original deadline ...

Read More

Congress repealed the Obamacare individual mandate; now states are trying to repair the damage

health care, News, obamacare

With its passage of the Republican tax bill Wednesday, Congress has successfully repealed a critical component of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — but states could still safeguard current health law.

To offset a tax cut — which largely benefits wealthy individuals over the long term — Republican lawmakers repealed the individual mandate. The tax overhaul bill now goes to the president’s desk. Once the bill is signed into law, the mandate will be repealed in 20...

Read More

Some Missouri HIV-positive patients to lose health coverage as assault on Obamacare continues

Affordable Care Act, health, health care, News, obamacare, Trump administration

Some HIV-positive patients in Missouri will lose critical health coverage in 2018, thanks to high costs and little marketplace competition. Many of the affected individuals live in rural areas, where access to health care is already limited.  

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, about 95 patients in 51 counties will lose coverage starting January 1. The state has begun notifying the patients of this change, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

<...

Read More

Alabama is first state to freeze enrollment to Children’s Health Insurance Program

health care, News

Alabama is the latest state to bear bad news to recipients of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), warning families Monday that it will no longer enroll children starting Jan. 1, 2018 and will terminate the program entirely on Feb. 1, 2018 if Congress fails to act.

Congressional lawmakers have yet to renew federal funding for CHIP since the program expired on Sept. 30. Since then, state officials have had to relay devastating news of funding shortages to families of...

Read More

Congressman announces cancer diagnosis months after characterizing illness as a personal failing

health care, mo-brooks, News, politics

During a speech on the House floor on Wednesday, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) announced that he has prostate cancer.

“Don’t ever, ever, take your health or family for granted. During the holidays, enjoy your family, because no one, no one, is promised tomorrow,” Brooks said, adding that he learned he has cancer following a doctor’s scan in October.

Martha and I are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support for our family during this difficult time a...

Read More

Obamacare enrollment is winding down. How successful was Trump’s sabotage?

health care, News, obamacare, politics

People who don’t have health insurance through work have two more days to sign up for coverage if they purchase plans on HealthCare.gov. The deadline is December 15 at 3 a.m. for all residents, except for those in areas impacted by hurricanes and those in 11 states and Washington, D.C., who have longer sign-up periods.

About 4.7 million people have signed up for coverage so far, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Over a million people signed up ...

Read More

Another state to warn CHIP families that insurance might end because Congress failed to act

health care, News

On Monday, Virginia officials began notifying families, who receive coverage through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), that the program may end on January 31st if the federal government does not adequately fund it soon; WAMU 88.5 reporter Selena Simmons-Duffin first reported the news.

Congress failed to reauthorize funding for CHIP on September 30th. Now, 65,000 children and 1,100 pregnant women enrolled in Virginia’s program are at risk of losing health in...

Read More